Blind Date
by shieldmaiden5678
Summary: Arnold and Helga are set up on a blind date by their best friends in an attempt to get them out of their depression. After not speaking to each other for nearly two years, old wounds are reopened and secrets are revealed on a night neither will forget.
1. An Extreme Plan

The locker closed with a slam as a sixteen-year old blonde haired girl turned to face her best friend. "Hey Pheebs, what's up?" Helga said with a soft smile.

Phoebe returned her friend's smile, but hesitated in answering as she looked in to Helga's darkened blue eyes. That look, it was still there. Her eyes had appeared to be missing some life ever since shortly after Helga had turned fourteen. Phoebe had never entirely figured out why Helga had appeared to die a little at that point, but she had logically reached the assumption (being the logical person that she was of course) that it had something to do with Arnold. Even though she had attempted to pry the truth from Helga, she had proven to remain tight lipped about it, refusing to talk at all about anything regarding Arnold. Phoebe responded, "Not much, Helga. Are you ready for Valentine's Day?"

Helga raised her left eyebrow in disgust at the very mention of the holiday. "Seriously Pheebs? Why would I care about that nauseating, card company created holiday? For your information, I'll be soundly planted in my room watching Wrestlemania and enjoying the quiet of the house for once. Bob's taking Miriam to the hottest restaurant in town and it'll be a miracle if she arrives home sober..." With that Helga let out an exasperated sigh and gazed down at Phoebe. "Soooo what have you and Geraldo got planned?" Helga said in an attempt to up the mood.

Immediately Phoebe's features lit up at the question. "Oh he's taking me to that little burger joint near Chez Paris and then we're going for a carriage ride around the park. It should be quite romantic!" She beamed and her cheeks flushed with a light tint of pink.

"That's great to hear Pheebs. Well, I've got to take off to class or else I'll be late, and you know how Ms. Powell gets when I'm late! You should get moving too!"

Helga dashed off with her books in her arms as Phoebe shouted after her, "Moving!" As soon as Helga had disappeared around a corner, Phoebe's face fell. Her friend hadn't been truly happy in a while, and even though she let Helga believe that she was doing a good job of hiding the truth from her, Phoebe remained severely concerned. "I wish there was something I could do to make her happy," she thought to herself as she traipsed into her Calculus class.

"Hey Arnold!" yelled Gerald as he ran up to his best friend and did their secret handshake that had been around since what seemed like the dawn of time. "How're you doing today?" Arnold looked over at Gerald and managed a small smile. It hadn't been an easy past three months since his grandmother had passed away from sepsis secondary to pneumonia. The death had hit both Phil and him quite hard, Phil especially. Now that Gertie had passed on, Phil mostly sat in the living room of the Sunset Arms boarding house quietly leafing through old albums of their time together and only speaking when necessary. Arnold missed his grandfather's liveliness and was worried that he wouldn't be around much longer. However, Arnold didn't want Gerald to know this fear and thus did his best to hide it from view.

"I'm doing pretty good Gerald. You and Phoebe ready for Valentine's Day?" Gerald vigorously nodded and excitedly relayed his plans to Arnold who listened intently.

"How 'bout you man? Got anything going on?"

"No, considering Kathleen and I broke up two months ago. Guess I'll probably just chill at home." He opened the door to their American History class and walked in, taking a seat near the front while Gerald sat next to him. Immediately upon sitting, Arnold laid his head down on the desk and closed his eyes, his blonde hair covering his face from the world. Gerald looked over at him and could tell that his friend was still going through a difficult time following the loss of his grandmother. It didn't help that Kathleen had broken up with him shortly after, that had just added salt to the gaping wound in his heart. The only other time that Gerald had ever seen his best friend this dejected was during the FTi incident seven years ago when it had seemed that they had lost the fight to save the neighborhood.

"I've got to do something to bring him back," thought Gerald to himself. It was at this moment that he felt his cell phone vibrate. He flipped it open and saw a text from Phoebe displayed on its screen. "Gerald, I need to talk with you after class. I have a most brilliant idea, but I need your help. Meet me at the stadium. Love you!" He smiled at the last part, but the rest of the message got his brain working. What plan did his girlfriend have? And what was it regarding?

Phoebe sat alone on the bleachers of the Hillwood High School stadium silently thinking to herself. A light wind blew causing her ebony black hair to wave in front of her pale face. She had to do something to help her best friend, whether she wanted her help or not and her idea seemed like the best possible plan at the moment. Suddenly she felt a hand on her right shoulder which she abruptly grabbed and yanked forward. "Thanks for meeting me Gerald," she said after planting a small, sweet kiss on the boy's lips.

"You always know how to surprise me, don't you?" Phoebe just giggled and patted the spot next to her. The tall, dark boy sat next to her and swung his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to him in a protective, loving manner. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Well, I'm really quite worried about Helga. You know she's been really down and out over the past two years. I know you're not especially fond of her, but I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me with an idea I've had to cheer her up." She looked up pleadingly into his brown eyes.

Gerald sighed then said, "I actually know how you feel, babe. Arnold's been really out of wack too lately and I don't know how to bring him out of his rut. I feel helpless, but he's my best friend and I feel like I have to do _something_." Phoebe turned his face towards her's and gave him a reassuring smile that made some of Gerald's worries just fade away.

"I've noticed that about Arnold, too." She took a deep breath before she quietly said, "That's why I was thinking for Valentine's day we should set them up on a blind date with each other." At this Gerald leapt up from his seat with a horrified expression on his face.

"**WHAT?** You want to set up Arnold, the most idealistic boy ever, with the queen of sadistic and crazy, Helga G. **PATAKI? ARE. YOU. HIGH?**" Phoebe yanked  
Gerald down from his perch and faced him head on with a glare that made Gerald almost wish he had never challenged this ferocious woman.

"You know as good as I do that they were great friends- no the best of friends!- for three years before whatever it was that happened that drove them apart! I've believed with my entire being ever since I was three that those two are **MEANT** for each other, Gerald! She's the reality he needs and he's the support she needs! Now will you **PLEASE** help me get these two back on track to their happy ending?" She let go of his shirt collar and slumped back on the bench, breathing heavily with her arms crossed. Gerald slumped back too, staring at his girlfriend in disbelief.

"A-a-all right, I'll help. I'll help you with getting Arnold to go on this blind date. If she hurts him at all though, don't try to hold me back from kicking her to the curb." At this Phoebe beamed and wrapped her arms around his body, making him positively melt with a love-sick smile spread across his features.

"Thank you, Gerald," she sweetly whispered into his ear before softly kissing him. "I just know that it's going to take something extreme to bring them back together and make them move forward. I'm positive that this will work."

**A/N: Hey all! Thanks for reading this first chapter! This is honestly my first attempt at any form of fan fiction interestingly enough. Before this I had only written analytical essays for Hey Arnold! I'll attempt to update in a timely manner. Any and all feedback is welcome and greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!**


	2. A Morning Proposal

Light began to flood the light blue wallpapered room as a loud, blaring beeping emitted from the clock on the table by the bed. A hand drowsily appeared from under the soft pink duvet and slammed down on the clock, narrowly missing the snooze button. Frustratingly, the hand slammed down again, this time achieving its goal. Helga peeked out from underneath the sanctuary of her covers and peered at the clock, groaning as she saw the bright red 6:30 staring back at her. Time to get ready for another bland day of high school. She managed to pull herself out of bed and stumble across her room where she sleepily opened the closet door. The closet was fairly bare compared to her childhood years when it had held elaborate shrines to Arnold, the boy whose love she had for him constantly tormented her young heart and soul. All that remained of this former worship was a dusty box filled with volumes one through thirty-seven and a half of her poetry regarding him.

She cast a quick glance at the box before yanking down her usual pink tank and white shirt. As she slid her boot cut dark wash jeans on, Helga silently contemplated where she was in her life. For the past two years, she had mostly felt numb to the world and that she was simply passing through life. No one really seemed to pay much mind to her, let alone her parents, and she had simply disappeared into the crowd once she had stopped her obstinate and bullying ways. Of course, that part of her had died when…she bit her lip and winced at the memory. It was still too painful to call back up. Phoebe was still there, her ever faithful and trusty best friend, but it just wasn't enough. The final blow had occurred right after she and Arnold had stopped talking.

In a panic to make things right she had dashed to Dr. Bliss in order to seek some much needed advice to solve her current predicament. Upon arriving though she had found nothing but an empty office and a few loose papers strewn about the carpet. She had collapsed on to the floor and cried her heart out, her last source of caring hope having seemingly abandoned her. She did receive a call later that evening from Dr. Bliss and was informed by her that her services had been deemed no longer necessary for the Hillwood school district and that she had been promptly been transferred over to a county several hours away. Dr. Bliss had expressed her sincerest sympathies in not telling Helga earlier, but Helga had just hung up the phone before she could get anything else out. It was that night that Helga had decided to stop caring, to stop loving, to stop living.

She yanked on her grey beanie and quickly swiped up her deep black backpack as she opened her bedroom door, only to trip over her mother passed out on the floor. Helga grumbled, turned Miriam over, and lightly slapped her across the face. "Huh wha? Ohhh heeey Helgaaa," slurred Miriam before closing her eyes and letting out a loud snore. Helga rolled her eyes and hoisted Miriam over her shoulder, dragging her into her parent's room. There she rolled her mother onto the king bed which caused her father to awaken.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing little lady?" He yelled as he bolted into an upright position.

Helga shot him an annoyed look before replying, "Putting Miriam to bed because you certainly won't." With that Helga dashed out of the room as Bob yelled out that other name that she despised so much. He could never get her name right, and she had given up hoping that he ever would. She reached the front door and entered out into the cold, unforgiving world, ready to just keep on passing through.

Phoebe sat on the city bus to school nervously wringing her hands at the thought of what she was going to ask Helga. She had decided to propose the blind date to her first thing in the morning just to get it over with. Knowing Helga she would be quite opposed to the idea and would take some persuasion in order to convince her that she deserved to have some fun and love in her life. As the bus pulled up to Helga's stop, Phoebe glanced out the window and waved to her friend. Helga weakly returned the wave before hopping on to the bus and sitting next to her best friend.

"Konichiwa Helga!" Phoebe cheerily piped.

Helga peered over at Phoebe and went, "No Japanese today, Pheebs."

Phoebe nodded. "English! Good morning! How are you?" She patted Helga's hand good naturedly as she said this.

"I'm all right. Pretty much the same as always. You?"

"I'm doing fairly good, thanks." Phoebe turned away from Helga and glanced at her own reflection in the window. She could easily see the fear building in her eyes at what she was going to ask. "I have to be assertive. You are strong and confident! Just, be the old Helga if you have to," she thought to herself. Phoebe took a deep breath and closed her eyes, building up her courage before she turned to face Helga again.

"So Helga, I actually came up with a wonderful idea for how you can spend tomorrow night!"

Helga frowned and quietly went, "Phoebe, I already told you. I'm watching Wrestlemania in my room and enjoying the peace that my home so rarely offers. That's it, so whatever idea you have just forget it."

"Look, I know you don't think that I notice, but I do." At this Helga perked up a little. "I just hate feeling that nothing I do helps. So this is me trying to make you happy again, at least for a little bit. Can you please let me do this for you?" Tears welled up in Phoebe's eyes as she turned to face Helga.

Helga was slightly taken aback. She had been fairly certain that Phoebe knew that she was dejected, but she didn't realize how much of a toll that her depression was taking on her best friend. Certainly she could see where Phoebe felt powerless to help her, she felt that she was pretty far from saving anyways. However she could at least humor her in thinking that she was helping her. At least that would make Phoebe feel less ineffective in her friend's life. After what seemed like an eternity, Helga whispered, "Okay Phoebe, let's hear your brilliant idea."

Phoebe inhaled sharply before she saying her idea. "A blind date. At Chez Paris. With a boy that Gerald and I believe that you will get along with very well." She recoiled on reflex, waiting for Helga to launch into a tirade about how ridiculous the very thought of her on a blind date in a frilly dress on the worst holiday of the year was and that there was no way in a million years that she would go along with it. However, her response stunned Phoebe.

"What time? And would you help me get ready for it? You know how terrible I am with girlish things like this." Helga meekly smiled at Phoebe. Once she had gotten over her shock, the small girl attacked Helga with a tight hug.

"Oh Helga! Are you serious? You'll actually do it? Oh I'm so happy! Thank you! I know you'll have such a great time!" She positively beamed over the fact that so far, her plan was a success. Now all she had to do was wait to find out if Gerald had been able to get Arnold to go along with the date. Stealthily she whipped out her phone and texted, "She's gonna do it. Will he? Really convince him Gerald! Do **whatever** it takes!"

As Phoebe texted, Helga placed her arms behind her head and silently mused, "At least she's happier now, and who knows. Maybe this blind date won't be the worst experience of my life."

**A/N: Thanks for the feedback so far guys! I really appreciate it and am astounded that I'm just not sending out text into dead internet space. Dead space. NECROMORPHS! *twitch* Yeaaa, I've been watching too many walkthroughs of the sequel of that game lately. Please forgive me. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks again for all your feedback and I look forward to your further comments! :)**


	3. Time to Look Up

Arnold lay on his bed with his arms behind his head, silently gazing out his skylight as the first rays of sun began to touch the sky. He had had a difficult time sleeping last night and had finally given up at four in the morning, opting to just get dressed for school and think instead as he had done so many times before. Nothing had gone right for him over the past several months. First his grandmother had lost her fight with the bacterial infection and had succumbed to her disease, then Kathleen had decided that after nearly two years of being in a relationship with him that she wanted different things. He knew that she had broken it off with him simply because she didn't know how to handle the cruelness of reality. The day that they had attended his grandmother's funeral, she had just sat there as still as a china doll, visibly uncomfortable at all the grieving and quite unsure of what to do. When Arnold had broken down shortly after the burial, Kathleen had simply walked away, opting to ignore the situation rather than realize that yes, bad things did happen to good people.

Over the days following the funeral, Kathleen had avoided Arnold at a time when he really needed her support. She just didn't seem to know how to handle this depressed version of Arnold, having been so used to his optimistic, bright-sided ways. Finally, nearly a month after the funeral, she broke his heart. He remembered the day well. It had been directly after school and they were walking home together. Her brown, curly hair was blowing in the wind and her black heeled boots click clacked against the cement as they walked hand in hand. Right before they reached the Sunset Arms boarding house, Kathleen looked down at Arnold with her chocolate eyes and said, "Arnold…I, I can't do this anymore." She ripped her hand from his and placed it on her left arm, nervously rubbing it up and down. "You're just, you're not you anymore. I know that you loved your grandmother and that she was a great woman, but I just…" a sigh escaped her lips as she searched for the right words to say.

"You just can't handle the real world? Is that it?" Arnold said with an acid tongue.

"No! Well, gosh I don't know," she said as she swung her arms up in the air in exasperation. Then she rapidly went, "You're not the boy I fell in love with anymore and I think we should break up."

"I'm not the boy you fell in love with anymore? What were you expecting me to do after she died? Grieve for a few days and then return to my old sun shiny self? She wasn't just my grandmother, Kathleen, she was the woman who **RAISED** me! Who taught me to look up when things were at their worst and even though I feel like the world is falling all around me without her here, I've been trying really hard to find something positive out of all this. I can't though and you haven't been helping me much. Actually, you haven't been helping me at all. You're my girlfriend, Kathleen. You're supposed to be there for me not only at my best times, but also at my darkest." He hunched over after this sudden burst of emotion, visibly wrecked by the sudden turn of events.

Kathleen gave him one last look full of pity before she walked away saying, "Not anymore."

It wasn't a memory that Arnold liked to bring up often, but it was one he was beginning to get over. Gerald had been the one shining light during this bleak time and had really helped him over the past three months. He had always been sure to visit Arnold frequently and was constantly trying to put at least a small smile on his friend's face.

Arnold felt like things were about to start turning around. He couldn't quite explain it, but he was starting to feel better about everything. Leaping out of bed, he grabbed his backpack and adjusted his omnipresent blue cap atop his head before dashing out of his bedroom. Before leaving he peered into his grandfather's room and saw him lying in bed, his chest slowly rising and falling in even breaths as he slept. His mind put at ease knowing that his grandfather was still alive, Arnold trekked downstairs and out on to the sidewalk where Gerald greeted him with a grin and their regular handshake.

"What's happening my man?"

"Didn't get much sleep last night," Arnold blearily replied.

"Why? Something bothering you?"

"Not so much anymore since I mulled over it a lot last night. I was thinking about that time leading up to when Kathleen broke up with me. You know, I still don't understand why she couldn't handle the situation and be supportive. You think you know someone, and then they just turn around and stomp on your heart. It hurts." Gerald nodded in agreement. "I feel like though that things are going to start getting better. I remembered something my grandma sang once. _'When skies are dark gray, things gone astray, don't hide away, look up!'_" A small smile spread across Arnold's face as he remembered the fond memory of him and his grandmother singing on the roof of the Sunset Arms as balloons floated into the skies all around them. "So, I'm done being depressed. It's not what she would want, and I'm sure she's up there looking down at me and thinking that I'm acting ridiculous being so sad."

"Well, you're allowed to be sad. Anyone would be in your situation."

"I know, but I'm done being down and ready to start returning to my old self. Besides, it's such a beautiful day out!" Gerald laughed as Arnold gave a wide grin.

"Finally the old Arnold is returning!" He patted him on the back as he said this. Gerald then felt a familiar buzzing in his pants pocket. Reaching in he pulled out his phone and read the text from Phoebe. "Aw man…" he mumbled under his breath. Unfortunately Arnold's hearing picked it up.

"What's wrong, Gerald?"

"N-n-nothing. Don't worry 'bout it. Hey, so what're you doing Valentine's day?"

"Considering I'm single now, nothing. Why?" Arnold suspiciously raised an eyebrow and peered over at Gerald.

"How would you like to go on a blind date at Chez Paris with…" Gerald paused as he tried to think of a positive adjective to describe Helga. "…with a _feisty_ young gal?"

"Um…Gerald. I don't think now is the time for me to be diving into a new relationship. I did just say that I'm done with being broken hearted. Maybe I should be taking baby steps back into the ocean rather than diving in head first?"

"But that's how you get used to the cold fastest! Come on, man! At least you'll have fun! It doesn't have to turn into a relationship if you don't want it to. Just think of it as a fun night out on the town with a savvy girl." Gerald shot him a suave smile and a wink to drive his point home.

"Well, I guess I could use some fun at least. Do I know this girl?" Arnold asked quizzically.

"Erm, yes. But I'm not telling you who it is!" Gerald frantically waved his arms at this as they walked up the steps to Hillwood High's entrance. A chuckle escaped from Arnold at the sight of his friend in a panic.

"All right, all right. I'll go. Besides, what else am I going to do righ-?" It was at this point that Arnold slammed into Helga as he rounded the corner to reach his locker. He rubbed his head and started reaching around for his books, trying to avoid eye contact with her. Unfortunately this failed as his green eyes accidentally found her blue ones.

"S-sorry," she faintly mumbled before bolting in the opposite direction. Arnold knew that Helga was avoiding him and had been since…well since their last major encounter. As good as a stalker she had been when they were younger, she was equally skilled in the art of making herself disappear from existence around him. He sort of wished that she wasn't. Maybe in addition to returning to his old self, he'd try to rekindle their former friendship. Besides, he was over the whole ordeal anyways considering that it had been years since it had happened.

"Geez, that girl is all kinds of crazy," Gerald mused as he helped Arnold up.

"Don't talk about her like that. You know as good as I do that she is a genuinely kind person."

"Then why did you two stop being friends so suddenly?" shot back Gerald. Ignoring the question, Arnold swung open his locker and grabbed his books. Gerald simply sighed and accepted that he would probably never find out, well at least not in the near future at least. He texted Phoebe, "Arnold's in. I sure do hope you know what you're doing."

**A/N: Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Thanks for the continued feedback! :)**


	4. Box of Memories

A petite Asian girl approached the blue house as the sun set, casting everything around her in a warm glow. It was just before 5 PM on Valentine's day, the time she had agreed to come over and help Helga get ready for the blind date. She was excited, but also nervous for the night as she knew that so many things were about to change. Hopefully, they would all be changes for the better and not permanent damaging ones. Her white Converse sneakers smacked the concrete as she hopped up the steps and opened the front door with the spare key Helga had given her years ago for emergency use. She figured that Helga wouldn't mind if she let herself in. A quick glance around was enough for Phoebe to conclude that Helga's parents had already left for the night.

Phoebe dashed up the stairs and softly knocked at Helga's door. When there was no answer, she slowly opened it and peered in. "Helga? Helga are you here?" Her eyes landed on Helga sitting on the bed, her pigtails hanging limply on her shoulders. Helga's head snapped up as Phoebe entered the room, her deep thoughts having been interrupted by her friend's arrival.

"Hey Pheebs. Ready to get this started?" Phoebe nodded enthusiastically and set her purse on Helga's desk. She quickly set about pulling out various shades of blushes, lipsticks, eye shadows, and all other sorts of make up which caused Helga to pull a face of disgust. "Seriously Phoebe? Do I have to wear this junk?"

"Oh not all of it silly! Besides, I think for you we're going to go for a more natural look. Just some foundation, light blush, mascara, and a clear gloss. Yes, that's what we'll do!" Phoebe grinned and continued setting up her makeshift make up station.

"Uh, okay that sounds all fine and dandy, but why did you bring all this other stuff?"

"I have to get ready too, Helga. Don't forget that I'm going out with Gerald!" Helga smirked at this before turning to leave.

"All right, how about you get ready first while I take a shower. I'll be back in fifteen." With that Helga exited the room, leaving Phoebe alone. Phoebe finished setting the make up out and set about applying it to her face. She applied a light shade of blue eye shadow to her eyelids that matched her periwinkle blue sweater dress. She brushed soft pink blush on to the apples of her cheeks and a small amount of mascara on her eyelashes after she had curled them. Finally, she put a clear gloss on her lips and smiled at her reflection in the mirror, satisfied with her appearance and certain that she would make Gerald wobbly at the knees.

The water was still running when Phoebe finished her make up application, indicating that Helga was in the shower still. Phoebe went over and sat on Helga's bed, looking around her room. It hadn't changed much over the past several years. Her armoire was still present as was the wallpaper decorated with yellow hearts. Abruptly Phoebe's wandering eyes stopped when she noticed that Helga's closet door was slightly ajar. "Do I dare?" Phoebe thought to herself. Yes, yes she did dare. She lightly advanced to the closet and ripped open the door. Immediately she noticed how bare the closet was, which she logically was able to attribute to the absence of a shrine. Helga didn't know it, but Phoebe had known about her shrines to Arnold, having stumbled across one once whilst trying to find her glasses during a sleepover when they were seven. A frown crossed Phoebe's face as she wondered if Helga no longer harbored feelings for Arnold. That's when she spotted the lone box sitting in the back corner of the closet.

Falling to her knees, she crawled to the box and yanked it open, gasping at what she saw. Inside she found the numerous volumes of Helga's poetry, a petite red, heeled sandal, a strip of photos of Helga and Arnold in various silly poses, a locket with Arnold's eighth grade photo in it, and a frayed pink ribbon. Phoebe reached for the poetry book marked volume thirty-eight and opened it up, flipping through it until she found the last poem. It was dated one day before Helga's fourteenth birthday. She had obviously stopped writing poems regarding her beloved a long time ago. Closing the book, Phoebe replaced it back in the box and pulled out the locket and the strip of photos. She smiled as she looked at the photos, recalling the day that they had taken them. It had been when they were thirteen, the summer before their eighth grade. The four of them had all gone together to Dinoland and spent the entire day riding roller coasters and get sick on cotton candy. It was also the day that Gerald had finally kissed Phoebe, as the fireworks lit up the sky during the park's nighttime show.

"What are you doing, Phoebe?" Helga said in a low voice that brought Phoebe back from her trip down memory lane and sent shivers down her spine. Cautiously, she turned and faced Helga, who was glaring down at her with a look of anger and slight embarrassment that she hadn't seen for a long time.

"Um…uh. Oh dear…" Silently she placed the photo strip and locket back in the box. "I'm so sorry, Helga. I never should have snooped around your room. I just…well I saw your closet door open and, well, curiosity got the better of me I guess." Phoebe gave Helga a sheepish smile, but only received a piercing glower back. She shuddered and gulped, realizing that she had definitely hit some nerve since she had elicited this strong reaction of fury from Helga. "Let's just get you ready shall we?"

"Fine, but don't _ever_ go through my stuff again! Clear?"

"Crystal!" piped Phoebe as Helga turned to go sit at her desk. Phoebe went to close the box, but not before she had pulled the ribbon out and tucked it into her sweater dress. She wanted to see if maybe she could convince Helga to wear it tonight. Arnold had always liked her pink bow.

"My man you are looking quite sharp!" exclaimed Gerald as Arnold examined himself in the mirror. Arnold beamed as he held his arms up and looked down at himself, pleased with how he looked. A solid black jacket was buttoned up around a crisp, freshly ironed tuxedo shirt with clear buttons. Gerald had picked out a dark blue tie for him to wear that really made him stand out and his grandfather's pocket watch was safely tucked in the pocket of his jacket. Arnold patted his black pants and looked back up at his friend, who was also sharply dressed in a black jacket and dress pants with a bright red tie and golden wristwatch.

"Couldn't have done it without you, Gerald." They left Arnold's room and walked down the stairs to the living room, where Arnold's grandpa Phil sat leafing through a photo album as usual. "Grandpa, we're leaving now. We'll see you later, okay?"

Phil looked up from the album and stared at his grandson. Mutely, he acknowledged his announcement with a slight nod then returned to the album. Arnold's face fell at the sight of his grandfather's depression. Quietly, he approached him and sat down on the couch beside him. "Grandpa? I miss her too, but she's gone. She's been gone, and looking through these albums isn't going to bring her back." He gently took the album from his grandfather's hands, closed it, then set it on the coffee table. Phil continued to look down as Arnold placed a hand on his back and slowly moved it up and down in a comforting manner. After what seemed like an eternity, Phil looked up and faced Arnold.

"I just miss her so much. She was my life, my everything. You know that Shortman. Without her, I feel like all the energy has left the world and that there's no point in going on. The photos at least make it feel like she's here, even if it is for a short time." Phil said this quietly as a few tears streamed down from his eyes.

"You know, I realized something yesterday. Grandma wouldn't want us to be sad over this. She would want us to continue living and to continue having fun and being spontaneous! Besides, you're not alone. You have me and I have you." Arnold hugged his grandfather, who returned it.

"I know I have you Shortman, and I'm thankful for it. It's just going to take me some time to get used to being without her."

"I'll help you. Don't worry grandpa, we'll keep getting through this together." Arnold smiled at his grandfather, who gave a small one of his own. They hugged again before Arnold got up and walked to the front door where Gerald was waiting with brimming tears of his own.

"Man, you always know what to say don't you?" Arnold just smiled and shook his head before heading out the door. "Hey Arnold, I forgot something in your room. Wait here for me okay?" Gerald dashed back into the boarding house and curved into the living room where Phil was still sitting. "Phil, you know Arnold's going on a blind date right?"

"Yes, you and your little girlfriend set him up. That is definitely nice of you two. I hope it's with that girl with the one eyebrow and the pigtails that he used to always hang around with. She always did have a bit of spunk about her." Phil chuckled at his memories of Helga sneaking into the boarding house as a young girl. That girl had been one basket of pure passion and energy, much like Gertie herself had been back when they were kids.

Gerald's mouth fell open in shock at Phil's statement. "Oh ho ho it is with Helga! Good choice! It's about time those two crazy kids stopped this war of silence they've had going!" Phil leapt up with excitement and patted Gerald on the back before clutching his stomach. "Word of advice: never eat raspberries!" With those last words, Phil dashed off, leaving Gerald in the same shocked state. Finally, he was able to gather his wits and met Arnold back up on the boarding house stoop.

"Gerald, are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something." Gerald shook his head and shot a grin at Arnold.

"Nah I'm fine Arnold! Just a tad bit nervous about my date tonight, but fine otherwise! Now let's get you to your blind date!"

**A/N: As always thanks for the continued feedback! It's awesome and really gives me the drive to continue writing! So thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! All feedback, whether it be positive, negative, neutral, random, etc. , is totally welcome and appreciated! :)**


	5. Blinded By Truth

Helga sat at her desk, staring listlessly at her reflection in the mirror as Phoebe curled her freshly blown dried hair. Her eyes traveled to a crack at the right side of the mirror, the sight of it making her heart twinge a little. The memory of what had caused that crack was something that she had been unable to erase no matter how hard she tried. Phoebe noticed Helga slightly wince which caused her to inquire as to what was the matter.

"Nothing Pheebs. Just felt a draft, that's all." Phoebe eyed her skeptically, but kept on curling her hair rather than pushing further. She knew better anyways and wasn't about to push her luck after the closet incident.

They continued to remain in silence for the next fifteen minutes. "You remember when we all used to hang out together? Just the four of us?" Phoebe suddenly said in an attempt to break the unbearable silence. Helga shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She did remember and could still easily recall all their exciting adventures. There had been something about her, Phoebe, Gerald, and Arnold all together as friends, an indescribable chemistry. Then Kathleen had to come and join the group, disrupting their perfect world in a matter of weeks.

With a slight nod, Helga replied, "I remember, but I'd rather not reflect back on it right now. Can we change the subject?"

"Changing! Excited for your date?" A simple shrug was all Helga gave in response, which basically told Phoebe that she honestly didn't care much. "Well, at least you're getting out tonight, that's the important part!" Phoebe finished curling Helga's hair and stood back to admire her work. Helga's shiny blonde hair fell in loose waves about her back and shoulders in a way that added a soft, feminine touch to her. Proud of having accomplished making Helga look more girly, Phoebe set the curler down and picked up the tweezers. "Okay, time to pluck that brow of your's!"

Helga's eyes widened in surprise at this. She didn't realize that they were going to do that! Her singular brow had been a defining feature of her since as far back as she could remember. "Do we have to?" she whined.

"Hey! My idea, my rules missy! Now sit still while I get this fuzzy caterpillar under control!" With that Phoebe set about plucking away as Helga flinched every few plucks. It didn't take her long to shape the brow into two, distinct eyebrows with a slight curvature that accentuated Helga's eyes. Once Phoebe had moved out of the way, Helga peered at her reflection and gasped at the sight that beheld her. It was odd to see herself with two eyebrows, yet there they were and they actually didn't look as bad as she had always thought they would.

"Wow, Pheebs. This is amazing!" Phoebe gave a small "Mhm!" and nodded. Phoebe then applied Helga's makeup in the natural look that she had described to her earlier. Just some basic foundation, mascara, a light blush, and a nude lip gloss. Nothing fancy, but enough to really add the finishing touches to Helga's look. As she admired herself in the mirror, Helga softly whispered, "Thanks, Phoebe. I thought I was really going to hate this girlish makeover, but honestly, it's not half bad." She looked up at the petite girl and smirked.

"I'm glad you like it! Now go put this dress on and those silver heels so we can get going!" Phoebe placed the aforementioned pink dress in Helga's arms and shoved the bathrobed girl out of the room. Once Helga had left to change, Phoebe reached inside her sweater dress and pulled out the once forgotten ribbon. She stroked it tenderly and took a deep breath, readying herself to get Helga to wear her bow once more.

After several minutes, Helga returned in the dress and heels. The chiffon and silk dress went down to her knees with a bodice that hugged her womanly curves and thin straps that allowed her shoulders to be shown off. It was all light pink, except for a dark pink band that wrapped around just beneath her breast line. Phoebe was surprised at how reminiscent the dress was of the jumper Helga had always worn back in elementary school. "How befitting," she thought to herself.

"So, what do you think?" Helga nervously asked of her friend. A giggle emanated from Phoebe as she enthusiastically bobbed her head up and down from excitement.

"Helga, you look AMAZING! This dress is perfect! You're going to knock him dead from your gorgeous beauty!" Helga simply blushed and smiled.

"Too bad I don't know who this 'him' is yet. Ah well, guess we should get goi…what is that in your hand?" She had finally taken notice of the pink ribbon limply hanging from Phoebe's left hand.

"It's your ribbon, Helga. You know, the one you always used to wear as a bow in your hair when you were younger?" Phoebe's voice wavered a little at the end, as she wondered how Helga would respond to her next question. "I thought, well, that maybe you could wear it in your hair. At least for tonight? It always did suit you." She followed this with a gentle smile.

Helga remained rooted in the center of the room, her frame as stiff as a board while a floodgate of memories filled her mind.

A towel flew down to the ground as a pigtailed girl in a brown dress strode to the exit of the YMAA gym. The April Fools dance had just ended and Helga wanted nothing more than to get home and write poem upon poem about her passionate and heated tango with Arnold. The mere memory of the tango during their battle of wits made Helga emit a lovesick sigh. As she reached the door, another hand pushed it open. She looked up to find the source of this hand: Arnold. "Let me walk you home."

"You? Walk me home? After you embarrassed me in front of our entire class? Noo thank you, football head. Helga G. Pataki can handle herself!" She then stormed out of the gym and out into the cool night air, scowling as she walked. Arnold ran out and planted himself firmly in front of her, locking his eyes with her's.

"I'm not letting you walk home alone! Not at this time of night anyways. Besides, you are my date." Helga sighed internally at the word "date", but eyed Arnold hesitantly wondering if he had anymore tricks up his sleeve. As though he had read her mind, Arnold went, "I promise, it's just a walk home. I'm done with all the pranks."

After thinking it over for a few seconds, Helga shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever floats your boat, Arnoldo. Lead the way!" They then began treading down the sidewalk, side by side. Once she was sure Arnold wasn't looking at her, she allowed a lovesick smile to appear and a soft, quiet sigh to escape.

Initially, they remained in silence as they walked, preferring to look at the stars or the various shops lining the sidewalk. Finally Arnold went, "Helga, I'm sorry I dunked you in the pool. It wasn't right to get revenge on you like I did. I didn't even realize that I was capable of that!"

"Heh, you do have your surprising moments, football head. Even I wasn't expecting that! Especially from you!" Helga laughed a little, then turned to Arnold and delicately said, "I'm sorry too. It was wrong of me to make you think I was blind and put you through all that stress."

Arnold was a little taken aback by Helga's apology. It was a rare occasion that she ever admitted that she was wrong, and an even rarer one for her to apologize and take responsibility for her actions towards him. He smiled at her and gently touched her arm. "Thanks Helga. I really appreciate it." Arnold then chuckled, "You do have to admit, tonight was pretty fun. Especially that tango we did! Where did you even learn to dance like that?"

Helga blushed a little. "Olga taught me once during one of her visits. I reluctantly humored her in letting her teach me. Guess it came in handy." Arnold nodded.

"I was impressed."

"You were?"

"Yea, it was definitely nice to actually dance a real dance with someone who could keep up." Helga smiled at the compliment and her blush deepened. Arnold blushed a little himself, too. Secretly, they both thanked the heavens that it was dark out so that neither of their blushes could be seen by the other. The rest of the walk to Helga's house was spent reminiscing and laughing about their crazy night. Arnold found himself once again enjoying her company. She was definitely a fun person to be around when they weren't in the public eye of their classmates. If only she could be like this all the time.

All too soon for Helga, they reached her house. The lights were out, save for one in her parents' bedroom. Arnold walked up the steps with her and politely waited as she fumbled around for her house key. Internally, he was fighting himself whether or not to say what he really wanted to say. Finally, emotion rather than judgement got the better of him. "Why can't you be like this all the time?"

"Huh?" Helga said as she turned to face Arnold.

"Why can't you be like this when we're at school? When it's just us together, you're this completely different person than you are at school. You're kind, witty, funny, and a great listener. I always have a good time with you when it's just like this. I just, well I wish you would be yourself at school and not feel like you have to bully me all the time." Helga gaped at Arnold, shocked at this sudden outpouring of inner emotion and deep thoughts. Sure, he had said things like this to her before, but never this straight forward or heartfelt. Before she allowed herself to respond, she shook her head and replaced her surprised look with an angry scowl.

"I have a reputation to keep up at school Arnoldo! Besides, I've told you before! I'm mean and nasty and cruel! If you can't deal with it, then just stay the heck out of my way, football head!" she menacingly cracked her knuckles, but Arnold didn't flinch. He didn't even wince or show any fear. Rather, he remained firm in front of her with a look of disappointment etched on his face.

"I don't believe that at all. At least try Helga. Personally, I think we could be good friends if you'd just try to be yourself all the time. There's no use hiding behind this façade of bullying anymore." Arnold turned and traipsed down the steps once he had finished. At the bottom, he gave Helga one last look and awkwardly waved before heading in the direction of the Sunset Arms boarding house.

Once he was out of sight, Helga pulled out the locket from her dress and gazed upon Arnold's photo. "Oh my darling football head, you've finally truly seen through my defenses and into my kind, sweet heart. If only I could stop being so cruel to you! If only I could deny my insolent manner towards you and allow the world to see my true, good-natured persona." A lovesick sigh escaped her as she turned the key and unlocked her front door. She was about ready to enter when a familiar wheezing reached her ears. Without even looking, she punched Brainy square in the nose, breaking his glasses and causing him to fall over into her trash can. Once she was inside the house, she slid down against the door, still staring at the locket.

Her mind was running wild with Arnold's words, analyzing and considering them. She then stood with the locket raised above her, a determined look appearing on her face. "From this day forward, I swear to you, Arnold, that I will try to stop being so mean and awful to you. I know it'll be a long and difficult road, but my tortured soul is willing to put up with the pain if it means being in your presence more!"

"Helga? Helga!" Phoebe's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Huh?"

"Will you wear the ribbon or not?" Helga stared at the ribbon once again. After several moments of consideration, her hand shakily reached out for it. Rather than waiting for her friend to take it, Phoebe took Helga's hand and turned it over, placing the ribbon upon it. "Wear it, I think you'll feel more like your old self." As she looked at herself in the mirror, Helga tied the ribbon into her familiar bow atop her hair. Once done, she stepped back to admire her full reflection. Phoebe was right, the ribbon from her past was what completed the look. Besides, wearing it again felt right for some reason. "Oh you look wonderful!" squealed Phoebe.

"Thanks Pheebs, so do you. Ready to go? I'm starving!" Phoebe nodded and the two ladies glided down the stairs and out the house to Chez Paris.

**A/N: Thanks for the continued feedback as always guys! Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)**


	6. Panic in the Street

Pools of golden light lined the sidewalk as Arnold and Gerald walked towards Chez Paris in the crisp night air. Gerald looked over at Arnold and asked, "How're you feeling?"

"Nervous, but excited! I feel like doing this is a great way to start changing things for the better." He smiled and allowed his half lidded gaze to grace his face. Meanwhile Gerald stiffly nodded as he went through numerous disaster scenarios in the extremely likely event that everything blew up in his face. He just didn't see why Phoebe found it wise to set Arnold and Helga up, but he had learned to trust his girlfriend. Plus, even though she was small, she had the ferocity and fury of a thousand crazy ninjas.

They rounded the corner and arrived at Chez Paris, where Gerald grabbed the door for Arnold with a slick, "After you, Romeo." Arnold just rolled his eyes and walked in.

"Welcome to Chez Paris. Do you have a reservation?" inquired a stuck up looking maitre'd.

"Uh…"

"Yea. Romeo, the seven o'clock reservation. Table for two," interrupted Gerald. A frown was sent Gerald's way as he shot a smirk back. "What? I couldn't help myself." He slapped a hand across his mouth as he tried to hold back the laughter that was begging to get out at the sight of Arnold's annoyance. The maitre'd just eyed the two with a look of irritation before pulling out two menus and motioning for them to follow.

He sat the menus down at a table just to the right of the entrance. Arnold recognized the table as the one where he had taken Kathleen out on their first date and anniversaries. More importantly though, he thought, it was the same table where he had met, and subsequently fell for, the charming Cecile. He had never figured out who she really was and the two had not corresponded or met since that Valentine's Day seven years ago. It had bothered him for a while, but by the time he hit middle school the memory had been shoved back into the dark bowels of his mind, only to be revisited on extremely rare occasions.

As he took his seat, the maitre'd poured his water and informed him that his waiter would be with him shortly. Gerald looked at Arnold and said, "Well, this is it. She should be here any minute now. I'm just going to go wait outside for Phoebe. Good luck, man!" With that, they did their signature handshake and Gerald left to go await his beloved's arrival.

"Seriously, how the _heck_ do you wear these things? My heels feel like they're being stabbed with a knife every time I set my foot down! Criminy!" Helga groaned as they strolled along the sidewalk. A chuckle escaped from Phoebe at this complaint. She knew Helga wouldn't like the heels, but she was going on a date and therefore, that called for a pair of cute heels!

"No one really enjoys them per say Helga. They do hurt an awful lot, but they make us taller and really improve our stature!" Helga rolled her eyes at this and winced as she continued to walk.

They eventually turned the corner of Chez Pierre where Phoebe spotted Gerald waiting for her on the bench between Chez Pierre and Chez Paris. He waved to her as she ran and tackled hugged him on the bench. "Oh Gerald, I'm so excited for tonight!" A sweet kiss was shared between them before they looked back and noticed Helga standing back at the corner of Chez Pierre, rooted to the spot with her gaze directed at the front right window of Chez Paris and her mouth slightly agape. She then took several stumbling steps backwards before turning around and running away at a full sprint. Phoebe brought her hand up to her cheek and turned to Gerald saying, "Oh dear, I figured this would happen. We better go grab her before she gets too far! Hurry!" She kicked off her heels so that she could run easier, but when she turned around Gerald had already disappeared around the corner after Helga. With a hop skip, Phoebe joined in on the frantic chase.

Her heels hit the concrete hard sending shooting pains up her legs as she ran in a panic to the one place she knew was safe: her home, which contained the sanctuary of her room. Helga couldn't believe the audacity of Phoebe, trying to set her up with Arnold after all these years. Her eyes burned with tears that she quickly swiped away as she chanced a glance behind her shoulder. Not too far off in the distance was Gerald, sprinting at a rapid speed and quickly gaining on her. She accelerated her speed, but it wasn't enough. He reached her and grabbed her arm, yanking her back and pushing her against the building wall. "What the _**HELL**_ do you think you're doing Geraldo? Let me **GO**!" she screamed angrily. The strength of his grip on her only increased and Helga continued to yell at him to release her.

Phoebe arrived shortly after Gerald had caught Helga. She was surprised at Gerald's ferocity in handling the situation, but deemed it a necessary approach to the situation. Helga would indeed run off in this state if given the slightest opportunity. Slowly she approached her panicky friend and gently placed her hand upon her arm. Helga scowled down at her and yelled, "Phoebe! Seriously, make him let me go **NOW** or I will pound the both of you right here!"

"I seriously doubt that you would do that, Helga," Phoebe coolly responded. "Now could you calm down please so we can explain what's going on to you?"

"No I will **NOT** calm down! Your tall haired boyfriend has me pushed against a brick wall and it's really starting to piss me off! Now for the last time, let. Me. **GO**!" She wiggled around and fought against Gerald's grip with no success. In a last ditch effort, she let out a high pitched scream to attract attention to the situation.

"Helga, **SHUT UP**!" shrieked Phoebe in an enraged and shrill voice. Helga immediately stopped screaming and went limp, staring at Phoebe in shock. It wasn't like her friend to stand up against her, but when she did she knew it was serious. Once she saw that Helga had calmed down some, she took a deep breath and explained, "We set you up with Arnold because both of us," at this Gerald shot Phoebe a wide eyed look, "Well, more so me, but Gerald a little too, are tired of you two not speaking with each other. You've been acting all depressed and Arnold has never fully returned to his old self. We miss you both and want you to return to your old selves. Gerald needs Arnold, I need you, and I believe that you and Arnold need each other." A single tear slid down Phoebe's face as she finished.

Helga quietly mulled over Phoebe's words before saying, "I didn't realize that this was affecting both of you so much." She glanced down at her feet in silence, considering her options. On the one hand, she could continue attempting to escape Gerald's surprisingly strong grasp and possibly get out of the date entirely. However, on the other hand she could finally face her fear of confrontation with Arnold and bury the hatchet. Or the whole evening could go up in flames and end terribly with a night of crying herself to sleep while hugging her fluffy pink pillow. "No pressure," she thought.

Settled on her decision, she turned to Phoebe and said, "All right, I'll go. I'm not promising anything though."

Phoebe beamed as she excitedly yelled, "Yes!" Gerald however eyed Helga suspiciously, refusing to let up his grip on her.

Helga saw this and went, "I promise on my entire collection of Wrestlemania trading cards that I will go back to Chez Paris and not run away." Satisfied with this statement, Gerald released Helga who stepped forward while rubbing her arm.

"Sorry, Helga. Had to do it though." Gerald smiled as he wrapped his arm around Phoebe and brought her in close. "And for the record, even though you and I may not always get along so great, I do have to admit that you and Arnold really did, and probably still do, have something."

"You ready to head back, Helga?" She nodded and together they headed back to Chez Paris. It wasn't long until they were back at the restaurant entrance. Helga could see through the window that Arnold was checking his pocket watch while examining his menu. Phoebe motioned for Gerald to go wait for her as she approached Helga, who stood outside the door trying to mount the courage to open it. "Helga, you can do it. I know you can," said Phoebe with an encouraging smile. Helga nodded before reaching out a trembling hand for the door knob. Phoebe ran back off to Gerald after snatching her heels up, peering over her shoulder at Helga.

A zillion thoughts raced through Helga's mind as her hand rested on the door knob to the restaurant. She didn't quite know what she was going to do or say, but she hoped that for her and Arnold's sake that she wouldn't do anything rash or stupid. The door suddenly swung up, startling Helga as she leapt back.

"Are you coming in, miss?" the maitre'd queried.

She took a deep breath before answering, "Yes." She then walked into the restaurant and the start of her blind date.

**A/N: Thanks for the continued reviews and support! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Date is coming soon, very soon :D**


	7. Better Than a Dream

Arnold sat nervously at the table at Chez Paris, flipping through his menu and repeatedly checking his pocket watch. It was pointless to go through the menu as much as he did for he already knew what he was getting. There was only one thing at Chez Paris that he liked and that was the steak tartar, as it was the closest thing to a burger he could get there and he wasn't really into their fancy French food anyways. Glancing out the window, he saw Gerald sitting at the bench who looked over at him and shot him an encouraging thumbs up. He returned the gesture and turned to face the empty chair directly in front of him. He reminisced about his first date two years ago with Kathleen in an effort to stave off his nerves.

The date had gone incredibly well. Kathleen and him had talked the entire night away as she shared stories of her adventures in the hospital and homeless shelter as a volunteer and he had shared his own thoughts about the world and his optimistic vision of it. The entire time during the date Arnold had admired Kathleen's long, curly brown hair that cascaded over her smooth, mocha skin. She had worn a navy blue dress that had gone down to her knees and a silver necklace with a simple heart shaped charm on it. He had thought back then that he wanted nothing more than to gaze forever into her luscious chocolate brown eyes as they both worked to make the world a better place. After Chez Paris, the two had walked to Kathleen's home where they shared their second kiss before Kathleen headed inside, leaving Arnold on the front porch with a goofy smile.

After the break up, Arnold had had difficulty trying to figure out where things went wrong. He knew that things had definitely gotten bad after his grandmother's passing, what with his depression and Kathleen's inability to support him. In his prior deep thinking sessions, Arnold had recalled the memory of a date they'd had shortly before Gertie died. They had gone to Slausen's for ice cream on a Monday evening, something they had done every week since they started dating, and even though they made polite conversation, Arnold remembered thinking that everything felt dull and routine. He had been beginning to feel like they were in a rut. This realization that their relationship was already on a downhill run prior to his loss had made the breakup easier to deal with.

Arnold glanced down at his pocket watch again then out the window. Immediately his mouth dropped and he found it difficult to breathe. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. A young blonde haired woman in a light pink dress and a bow had just turned around and taken off at a run in the opposite direction with Gerald hot on her trail. He had only managed to catch a glimpse of a side her face, but it was all he needed to get his heart racing with the hope that the mystery had finally been solved. Could it be that Gerald had in fact found Cecile? Gerald certainly knew about the girl, having been there himself when it was revealed that Cecile was, in fact, an imposter. Arnold attempted to unbutton his top shirt button in an effort to make it easier to breathe, but it was in vain as his palms had become too sweaty to handle this seemingly simple task. He placed his hands on the table to steady himself as he began to feel a little dizzy from the excitement of it all. A big smile crossed his face as a small laugh escaped from him. He couldn't help it, he was just so happy that tonight he would finally get to see Cecile again!

"Can I help you, sir?" Arnold whipped his head around to face the waiter, who was eyeing him with a look of disdain and mild confusion. It didn't take long for Arnold to recognize that his waiter was Jacques, the same waiter he had had during that fateful meeting seven years ago and on his first date with Kathleen. "I am Ja-"

"I know who you are!" cut off Arnold. "The fates really must be on my side tonight", he thought as he chuckled.

"Oh, oh yes. I've had you several times before. Good, you've saved me an introduction. By the way, if you try to order le hamburger again, I will force feed you the chopped liver that the chef has prepared tonight. Trust me, not even Listerine will get rid of the abhorrent taste. Now, what may I get you to drink, sir?" Jacques took out his notepad and clicked his pen, shooting Arnold a warning look.

"Heh, yea don't worry I won't try to order that," said Arnold as he gave Jacques a nervous smile. "Uh, I'll just have a Yahoo soda for now."

"Very good, sir. I shall return once your lady friend arrives." Jacques then turned and walked away with his nose pointed upward in a snobby way. Arnold shook his head as he laughed again. Some people never changed.

He looked out the window and was slightly dismayed when he saw no one out there. For the millionth time he pulled out his pocket watch and saw that the time now read 7:15. Had she gotten cold feet? It would certainly explain why she had run away. Arnold sighed as he picked up the menu and leafed through it slowly, his mind mulling over all the possible reasons why Cecile had run off so abruptly.

Several minutes later, Arnold perked up when he heard a soft and familiar voice say, "I'm here meeting someone, can you help me find them? He's got blonde hair and-" Arnold leapt up and grabbed the rose he had brought, nearly knocking his chair over in the process, and rushed around the planter at the entrance. He came to an abrupt stop once he saw her. Stunned, he could do nothing but let out a barely audible, "Wow." Yes, this was indeed the Cecile he remembered, just more grown up. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous as it perfectly showed off her feminine curves that she had grown into and flowed graciously down to her knees. Her wavy blonde hair partially covered her face and her blue eyes glistened in the light of the restaurant.

He felt as though he was in a dream as he never believed in a million years that he was going to see her again. For a while, he had been somewhat convinced that the night itself had been a dream seeing as how wonderful it had been. Now though, in this moment, he knew that he was no longer dreaming. His reality was now better than any dream he had ever had. There was something puzzling about her though as he gazed at her. She appeared slightly apprehensive and scared, afraid that one wrong move would set off a cataclysmic reaction of catastrophic proportions. "Hey Arnold," she softly whispered with a weak smile.

Arnold got a goofy grin and replied, "Hey Ce-" It was in that moment that Helga brushed back her hair to reveal her full face. The color drained from Arnold's face and he suddenly felt very light headed and woozy. Next thing he knew, he stumbled and was falling to the ground with the world fading to black around him. The last thing he remembered was his name frantically being called out before he gave into the darkness that enshrouded him.

**A/N: Sorry it took several days to update! I just could not for the life of me get in a writing mood and seriously didn't want to write when I wasn't in the mood to write. That would just lead to a meh piece of work. Thanks for the continued support, feedback, and love for this story! YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! 3**


	8. Starting Over

Helga's heart stopped when Arnold slumped forward with his face pale as a ghost and his eyes closed. "Arnold! **ARNOLD**!" she cried as she launched forward with her arms outstretched. She managed to catch him just before he hit the ground and slowly lowered him down shakily, her breath catching in her throat and her heart threatening to beat out of her chest. Her head snapped up and her eyes found Jacques standing just a few feet away with a dumbfounded expression on his face. "What're you doing just standing there? Grab that water off the table and hand it to me!" Without question he did just that then scurried off into the kitchen to grab a drink for himself to calm his nerves. Helga splashed the water in Arnold's face, who woke up sputtering and coughing. She breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the planter with her hand on her chest wondering what she had done to shock him so badly. "Are you…are you all right?" she carefully asked as she calmed down.

Arnold grasped his head as he sat up, shaking it slowly as he did so. "I think I am," he muttered. The fact that Helga was Cecile had indeed been a lot to take, but he had never in a million years expected to full on faint like that. After he felt like he could handle it, he leaned forward and attempted to get up, only to get light headed again and have his hand slip out from under him. Helga gasped and grabbed his left arm, pulling him up with the strength that she had built from heaving her constantly drunk mother throughout the house time and time again. "Where're we sitting?" Arnold motioned with his right hand towards the table by the window. He still felt like he was in a daze as he staggered over to his seat with Helga's assistance. The maitre'd pulled out his seat as Helga placed him in it and pushed his water glass towards him. "Here, drink this. You need to get hydrated and it should help prevent any further pass out spells." Gracefully, she glided over to her seat across from him and sat down in it after the maitre'd had pulled it out for her. She silently thanked him with a smile and a small nod.

He had to admit that he felt a lot better after several large gulps of the cold water. As he sat the glass down on the table, he sternly looked over at Helga and sharply said, "I can't believe it was you all along." Helga's eyes widened in a look of shock and hurt as she tried to figure out what he was referring to.

"What are you talking about?" she shot back.

"You're Cecile! You were Cecile this whole time!" he vigorously shouted as he motioned towards her with his hands. Realizing that he had finally, after all these years, figured it out, Helga recoiled in her chair and flipped her menu up in front of her face as a makeshift shield from his anger. Not willing to let her get out of explaining this time, Arnold reached across the table and whipped the menu out of her hands. He continued to look sternly at her, causing Helga to start chewing her lip nervously and wring her hands. Knowing she wasn't going to get out of this, she closed her eyes and balled her hands up into fists, shaking them up and down before slamming them on the table defensively.

"All right! Yes I am…was…**AM** Cecile! I only did it though because I wanted to get close to you back then. I mean, criminy, could you blame me? You were all goofy for Ruth McDougal and I was pretty crazy for you back then! In my messed up nine-year old mind, posing as your French pen pal seemed pretty genius to me." With this she leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes, a wave of relief washing over her as she no longer had to hold on to the one secret that she had never revealed to anyone, not even Phoebe. She then began to laugh, softly at first then increasingly louder until she nearly fell over in her chair. This caused the rage to rise up in Arnold, something that rarely ever happened to him.

"I don't see what's so funny about this, Helga," he firmly stated.

This caused Helga to abruptly stop and face him. "Honestly, football head. You have to admit, the fact that you just now figured out that it was me really shows how dense you were and kind of still are."

Insulted, Arnold glared at her and yelled, "I'm not dense!"

She chuckled at this. "Oh _puuuhlease_. You seriously couldn't figure out that it was me? How many blondes were in our class besides Sheena? Well, there was that one girl, Gloria, who sort of looked like me, but that's beyond the point as she was out with Stinky that night! Who else could it have been but me? Face it Arnold, when it comes to love, you're as naïve and dense as those frilly Disney princesses."

Arnold felt his blood boil as he gripped the table in order to restrain himself. Sure, he knew he was pretty innocent minded and optimistic when it came to romance, but that was a quality about himself that he liked. Having it shot down by Helga only served to infuriate him further. "Once again, I'm not dense! It may have taken me years to figure out that you were and are Cecile, but you haven't faced up to the fact that you're afraid that you'll never find love. You're so afraid of being hurt that you push everyone away so that they don't even get that chance to let you down!"

She cringed at Arnold's revelation and weakly whispered, "No I'm not."

"You are, Helga! You are! What was that night all about? And don't play dumb with me, you know what I'm talking about." Helga knew that he was talking about the last time they had spoken and knew that he had hit it on the nail. Rather than acknowledging his statement, Helga stood up from the table and with a disheartened look, began to walk away. She had thought disaster would come from this night, and disaster in the form of a nuclear meltdown had indeed occurred. However, from the ashes of destruction a single, small flower bloomed as she felt a hand gently, but firmly, grab her arm just as she was almost to the entrance. The hand slowly made it's way down to hers and grasped it, pulling her back around. Her blue eyes met his forlorn, apologetic green ones. Somehow, over the past few years, Arnold had grown to match Helga's height. She silently thought to herself that it was going to take some time for her to get used to it.

"Look, I'm sorry," he sincerely spoke as he held her gaze. She blinked at this and attempted to leave, but his grasp on her hand remained firm.

Sighing she looked back at him and murmured, "I can't hurt you again. If I did…" she winced before continuing, "that again, it would kill me."

He kindly smiled at her, "I know you won't hurt me, you're too good of a person to do that." She returned the smile with one of her own, which made his stomach do a light flip. "It wasn't right of me to react the way I did. You're Cecile, and that's that. Guess the truth was just too shocking for me to face."

"It's okay, I'm sure it was a surprising thing to find out. I'm sorry, too. Really though, I need to go." Again she tried to leave, and again he gently pulled her back.

"We agreed to do this date, and I'm not about to let you get out of it. If you don't want to talk about it, we won't talk about it now," she relaxed as he said this, understanding that he was referring to that night. Hand in hand they walked back over to their table where Arnold suddenly had a brilliant idea. "I know! Let's start over for now. Hi, I'm Arnold," he said as he picked the rose up from table and handed it to her. "And you are, fair mademoiselle?"

Helga giggled at his enthusiasm as she responded, "Helga. Helga G. Pataki."

"Very nice to meet you, Helga! Here let me help you into your seat." He did just that, then returned to his own. "May I just say that you look quite nice this evening."

Bright red blush filled Helga's cheeks at the compliment. "Thank you! You look handsome yourself." Arnold smiled at this, and then the two peered down at their menus, both believing that maybe something good would come out of the night.

**A/N: Thanks for the continued support guys! I apologize in advance if I don't get a chapter out tomorrow! Overnight ER shift tonight, so sleep tomorrow! :)**


	9. Love and Death

It was a blustery October 5th in Hillwood. Eleven-year old Arnold walked along the bridge that went over the harbor, his hands in his pockets and a solemn look upon his features. Today marked the anniversary of his parents' disappearance in San Lorenzo. They had taken off in a plane and had never been heard from or seen again. Arnold kept on holding to the belief that his parents would miraculously return to Hillwood and all would be grand and glorious. However, life was beginning to teach him that miracles don't always happen. His mind mulling over these revelations, he leaned forward on the bridge and gazed out about the harbor. He enjoyed watching the ships sail through as he liked to imagine the far off places that they would go off to and the adventures that they experienced out on the high seas. Cradling his head in his hand, he allowed his mind to wander until a pink fluttering bow caught his eye. It belonged to none other than Helga, who was sitting on the edge of the pier with her legs hanging off, lazily swinging back and forth as she peacefully wrote in her journal. He drank in the sight of her at peace with her surroundings as it was a rare occurrence. Silently he thought about how grateful he was that she had stopped bullying him all together. Now they were friendly acquaintances, greeting each other in the hallways and treating each other with kindness. Deciding that he could really use someone to talk to right now, Arnold pushed away from the bridge and headed down to the pier.

Not much time had passed before he was approaching Helga from behind as she continued to write in her journal. Just as he was about to chance a look over her shoulder to see what she was writing about, the wood beneath his foot creaked, giving away his position and startling Helga. Quickly she slammed the journal as Arnold asked, "Mind if I sit down with you?" She shrugged which Arnold took as meaning his request was okay. As he sat down on the edge of the pier, Helga stuffed her journal down her pink jumper.

"How's it going, football head?" she said nonchalantly with a soft smile. Arnold chuckled a little at the nickname as that was something that had just stuck between the two of them. It used to annoy him to no end, but now he found it to be endearing and something that he enjoyed hearing from her.

"It's okay. Just needed someone to talk to, you know?" Helga peered over at Arnold. She knew exactly what was going on just from his face. Even though he was trying to conceal his sadness with a small smile, she could see it clearly in his brilliantly green eyes.

"It's your parents, isn't it?" she calmly brought up. Slowly Arnold nodded and then leaned forward, placing his arms on his knees and gazing at the water below. A light breeze ruffled his hair as Arnold let out a gruff sigh.

"I know it's been over nine years since they left, but I can't help but keep thinking that one day they're going to be found, they'll return home, and we'll be a family again. Is it so ridiculous that I still can't give up on them after all these years? If I start giving in to the reality of the situation, that they're most likely...gone forever, then that means that I really am an orphan. I'd be all alone in this world. All alone." He leaned forward and covered his face in his hands so that Helga couldn't see the tears forming in his eyes.

There was silence between the two of them after this sudden outburst. It certainly wasn't what Helga least expected, but it still took her by surprise. She had understood, even before she knew what had happened on this day in his life, that it was the worst day of the year for him. Every year he seemed to get more depressed and forlorn on this day as the chance of his parents returning grew dimmer and dimmer. Gently she placed her hand on Arnold's back and began to rub it in a soothing manner.

"You're not alone, Arnold. You've got your grandparents, Gerald, and pretty much our entire sixth grade class." This did nothing to alleviate his sorrow as he simply shook his head as though denying her statement. She hesitated and thought about her next move, chewing her lip and gazing up at the gray sky. In a barely audible voice, she said, "You have me." This caused Arnold to sit up and look over at her in surprise. It was the first time that Helga had ever really admitted any sense of connection between the two of them in such a calm setting. Smiling, she turned away from him so that he couldn't see the faint pink blush that had spread across her cheeks and threatened to reveal the truth of how she felt about him.

Arnold leaned over and wrapped his arms around Helga, which made her squeak in shock at this show off affection. "Thanks Helga. That means a lot to me," he whispered in her ear before pulling away and smiling at her. She smirked back at him and lightly punched his arm. That day marked the beginning of their incredibly close friendship and the start of their weekly Sunday pier meet ups.

Gazing across the table at Helga, Arnold regretted losing her friendship. Over the past two years there had been days where he had really wished that she had been there so that he could tell her about his problems and not be judged. She had always been great at listening to him, picking him back up from his slumps, and putting a smile on his face. Noticing that he was staring at her, Helga confusedly asked, "What? Is there something on my face?"

"Wha-? Oh no! No, nothing like that. I was just reminiscing about our friendship, that's all." A pang of guilt struck Helga as she remembered how quickly their strong friendship had dissolved. Who knew that it would only take one ferocious night to severe a bond as strong as their's.

"Oh…heh. Yea, we sure had some good times," she said nervously, afraid he was going to bring up the large elephant in the room. Thankfully, Jacques came by with two associates who set their entrees down upon the table. They had both ordered the steak tartar after Helga had freaked out at Jacques's suggestion of calf brains and eggs, which had made Arnold nearly fall over with laughter.

Together they ate their meal and continued to reminisce about the good old days when the four of them were such an eclectic group. There was the time that they had gotten lost in downtown and had to use their wits to decipher the subway map to get home, all the times they had hung out at the Sunset Arms, and their sleepovers at each other's homes.

"I remember our last sleepover. It was at the Sunset Arms and your grandma made us all those wonderful pancakes in the morning." There was a clang as Arnold's fork hit the plate at the mention of his now deceased grandmother. Helga realized that he still wasn't over the fact that his grandmother was gone. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

"It's okay, I'm still just trying to get used to her being gone. She was such an important part of my life."

"I know. She was pretty important to me, too. I can't quite explain it, but I also felt like she and I shared a special bond. She did understand me more than my own parents do, that's for sure."

"I wish you could have come to the funeral, I'm sure she would have wanted you there."

Helga paused before quietly saying, "I was there." His eyes widened in shock at this revelation. He had felt remorseful about not inviting her to the funeral as he had known that his grandmother would have wanted her to be there. This statement put him more at ease with everything.

"I didn't see you at all. Where were you in the church?"

"Second story. Right behind the balcony pillar. Every time it looked like you were going to see me, I ducked behind the pillar and only peered around carefully," sheepishly she smiled, knowing that he wasn't upset over the fact that she had crashed his grandmother's funeral. "I'm pretty sure your grandfather saw me at one point," she continued. "During your eulogy, which was so beautiful and heartfelt that tears poured like an open tap from my eyes, he turned around and made eye contact with me as I watched you from around the pillar. He looked pleased that I had come and gave a small nod before he turned back." Silence fell over them as they recalled that day. The sun had shone through the stained glass and illuminated the mahogany coffin that laid at the front of the church. The first floor of the church had practically filled out with Gertie's friends and loved ones. Arnold had never realized how many lives his grandmother had truly touched until her funeral, and it had filled his heart to know that his grandmother was so loved.

"I left daisies at her grave the next day. I never did know what her favorite flowers were, but they seemed to really represent her upbeat and optimistic personality well." Helga grinned over at him while placing her now empty plate to the side of the table.

As he did the same, Arnold said, "I'm sure she liked that. Thanks, Helga. For coming to her funeral." He felt his heart beat a little faster as he saw her smile widened, and for a moment he swore that he felt his grandmother's upbeat spirit there with them, telling him something that he couldn't quite hear.

The bill arrived shortly after, and even though Helga tried and tried to get Arnold to allow her to pay at least half of it, he vigorously refused. Placing a fifty with the bill, he stood up and grabbed Helga's hand, helping her up. "Do you trust me?" he playfully asked.

Helga eyed him suspiciously, cautiously replying, "Sure I do. Why?"

"Then come with me." With that, he gently led her out of the Chez Paris and out into the cool, clear night air.

**A/N: JUST getting this in on Valentine's Day! Hope you're all having a good one! Thanks for your continued support and love on this fic! It seriously means the WORLD to me! :)**


	10. Wounded Heart

Arnold and Helga walked down the street in silence. The passed by various couples, some cozied up with each other as they sauntered by and others tersely holding one another's hands and appearing as though they were only out due to tradition. These were the couples that made Helga fearful of her own romantic future as she didn't want to end up in a loveless marriage. She furrowed her brow at this thought, which Arnold noticed. "What's wrong?" he prompted.

"Huh? Oh nothing," she replied as she shifted the jacket Arnold had placed on her shoulders. She had refused his offer of his jacket once they had gotten outside of the restaurant, but he hadn't taken no for an answer. Helga wouldn't admit it, but she was pretty grateful that he had made her wear it as it was freezing. "Where're we going?"

Arnold smirked and wagged his finger, "Ah ah ah! I'm not telling! It's a surprise, remember?" Helga let out a gruff sigh before returning back to her thoughts. "I know you'll like it though."

The pair continued in silence as they turned a corner and headed towards a bridge. A full moon was out tonight and its glow cascaded down on the barely lit street they were now on. "How're you doing about Kathleen?" Helga inquired.

This question took Arnold a little by surprise, but he answered, "All right. It's getting better." He looked over at her and grinned.

"How'd it end?"

"Oh, well she just wasn't there for me after grandma died and we were pretty much on a downhill run before then anyways. It was only a matter of time." Shrugging his shoulders, he placed his hands in his jacket pocket and looked out over the bridge. The water glistened in the moon's light and the ripples in the water only made the sight even more beautiful. Not too far off from the bridge was a set of stairs that led to the boardwalk. At the end of this boardwalk was their pier hangout, the place where they had first become true friends and where Helga had had her heart and spirit broken in a single afternoon.

"I should have known," Helga silently thought to herself as she walked towards the bridge with a smile on her face and leaned against the barrier, allowing her mind to drift to the past.

The sun shone brightly over the harbor area as Helga relaxed against a post on the pier, waiting for Arnold's arrival. It was a little chilly, which was why Helga was wearing a lavender coat over a pink dress. The cold was to be expected as it was close to the end of November. She looked over at her watch on her left wrist and saw that the time read 1:56 PM. Anxiously, she whipped her head around trying to find Arnold. He had called her the night before telling her that he had something very important that he needed to tell her, making their usual meet up more important than normal. What it was, she didn't know, but she was trying very hard to not hope for the possibility that he had finally fallen for her. Even though they were now in the eighth grade and were great friends, she had never divulged her true feelings for him as she still strongly feared that he would reject her, or worse, laugh about it as though it were a joke.

Right on the dot at 2 PM, Arnold came jogging up to the end of the pier. Helga smiled at his arrival. He had certainly grown in middle school, but thankfully he was still a whole head shorter than her. "Hey football head. How's it goin'?" Arnold leaned against the pole opposite her and peered down at the water flowing beneath the wooden boards of the pier. His half lidded gaze overtook his face and he sighed before looking back up at Helga. She had always found him harder to face when he had that half lidded look, because she knew that it was his look of love and pure happiness.

Quietly he said, "Helga, I'm…well I'm pretty sure that I'm…well…uh," he nervously laughed and stuffed his hands in his navy blue jacket. Had he finally realized his love for her? Helga began to believe that maybe, just maybe, today was the day. The day that all her dreams were going to come true, that he was about to profess his love for her, and they would seal it with a magical, romantic kiss surrounded by the ocean swells at the edge of the pier while their hearts rapidly beat in unison. A faint tinge of blush appeared on her cheeks at the thought of Arnold kissing her, but she quickly regained her composure and walked over to him.

"What's going on? You can tell me." He looked over at her and then inhaled a large breath.

"Well, I think that I'm in love with Kathleen." Helga's jaw dropped, however she rapidly shut it and forced a smile on her face. Her heart plummeted into the pit of its stomach and she silently scolded herself for allowing herself to gain too much confidence in her fantasy becoming a reality.

"Ah, that's great Arnold! Sooo what're you going to do about it?" Beneath her smile laid a scowl and a dozen choice words for the sweet, caring Kathleen that had smitten Arnold. Kathleen had transferred into their school from Seattle at the beginning of the school year. Arnold had introduced himself to her and had guided her through her first harrowing week at the school. She regularly volunteered at the local hospital, had a strong interest in rural medicine, and was incredibly witty. It shouldn't have been surprising that Arnold would develop feelings for her as she was so much like the women that he normally was attracted to. Helga had become slightly jealous of the increased amounts of time that Arnold spent with her, but she brushed it off as nothing to be worried about because she couldn't help but somewhat like Kathleen too. At least she wasn't as annoying as Lila had been in elementary school. Still, it hurt incredibly to know that once again Arnold had fallen for someone that wasn't her.

"I don't know," replied Arnold, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was sort of hoping you could help me?"

"Me, help? You know I'm not exactly the most romantic person ever, right?"

"Yea, but you're a girl, and you're one of my closest friends. I trust your insight a lot." Helga turned away from him and gazed out across the open ocean, trying to resist the urge to shout out to him and the rest of the world that she should be the one he should love, not this sweetie pie of a girl, Kathleen. She strongly believed though that he would reject her if she were to do that now, especially since his heart was elsewhere. Turning around she strode over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"All right, Arnoldo, here's what you do. We've got that Winter Formal dance coming up. What you do is place an anonymous mushy love note asking her to meet you at the dance in her locker before she shows up to school tomorrow morning. Then at the dance, present her with a corsage or whatever us girls are supposed to get from a date and tell her that you really really like her."

"Love her," Arnold interjected.

"Really really like her. You say love, and she'll run for the hills like a frightened doe. Save that for later on." Helga chuckled at his naïve outlook on love. "You do that, and everything should turn out all happily ever after and whatever else those sappy chick flicks tell you happens."

"You really think this'll work?" Helga nodded, knowing that it was what she had hoped that he would do for her. Unexpectedly, he embraced her as he quietly said, "Thanks, Helga. I knew you'd know what to do." He then ran off to draft his love note, waving goodbye to her as he did. Standing at the end of the pier, Helga watched as her beloved ran off from her and towards a future that didn't include her as his girlfriend. The entire walk home, she felt numb and it wasn't until she flopped on her bed that she allowed the tears to silently drop from her eyes.

Arnold had followed through with Helga's suggestion and it had worked. During the slow dance at the Winter Formal, wherein Helga sullenly sat on the gym benches as she watched Gerald happily dance with Phoebe and Arnold dance with Kathleen, Arnold and Kathleen shared their first kiss. It was a simple, small peck and had left Arnold with a love struck smile. Helga had clutched her chest at this sight and had suddenly found it hard to breathe. It was as though her whole body was constricting upon itself in a failed attempt to disappear entirely from existence. Leaping down from the benches, she sped out of the gym and into the freezing air as her pale rose-colored dress billowed about her. She kept running until she reached the playground, where she sat down upon a swing and cupped her face in her hands. Slowly she shook her head back and forth, trying to get rid of the image of Arnold kissing another woman, but it was no use. A few tears escaped her eyes and dropped to the concrete below.

The sound of footsteps caused her to whip her head around to see who was approaching her. It was Phoebe and Gerald, who had come looking for her after Phoebe had noticed her abrupt disappearance. Seeing Helga's face tear stained face, Phoebe turned to Gerald and said, "Go back inside, I'll be in shortly." Gerald simply nodded and kissed her forehead before heading back into the gymnasium, which was now practically bouncing thanks to the overloaded bass beats in the hip hop jam the DJ was playing. Phoebe quietly walked over and took the swing next to Helga. No words needed to be spoken between them for Phoebe to figure out that this was about Arnold. Silently, the two began to swing back and forth, allowing the cool air to envelop them and threaten to carry them off into the sky. As they got higher and higher, they kicked off their heels and looked over at one another. Phoebe encouragingly smiled at Helga before she leapt off the swing and landed just a short distance away. It wasn't long after when Helga did the same, only landing several feet in front of Phoebe.

Somberly, Phoebe approached Helga and hugged her. "I'm sorry, Helga," she said.

"For what?"

"I'm sorry that your dream didn't come true." The two girls remained in the middle of the playground hugging until Arnold came out from the gym with Kathleen in tow.

"Uh, everything okay?" he asked with a nervous smile. Phoebe and Helga broke apart and looked over at him.

Forcing a smile, Helga replied, "Everything's just dandy here, football head. We were just having some girl talk. I see you're doing fantastically." There was just a slight hint of acidic undertone in her voice, but only Phoebe picked up on it.

"Yea! Guys, I want to formally introduce you to Kathleen, my girlfriend," he proudly exuded.

Extending her hand out, Kathleen gracefully smiled and brightly said, "Hello!" At first Helga hesitated in grasping her hand, this was the woman who had beaten her out for Arnold's affections after all.

Figuring it was the right thing to do, Helga firmly took Kathleen's hand and shook it while forcibly smiling. It took every ounce of will power for her not to snap the girl's wrist in two.

Back at the bridge, Arnold leaned over and looked at Helga. "You know where we're going right?" She nodded and walked over to the stairs that led down to the boardwalk. Before she could head down them though, Arnold dashed out in front of her and extended his hand. "Let me help you down."

She scoffed at his offer and brushed his hand away. "I maybe a girl, Arnold, but I'm pretty sure I am perfectly capable in making my way down the stairs myse-" It was at this point that she tripped in her heels and tumbled down the rest of the stairway, landing on her stomach on the boardwalk.

His heart pounding in his chest out of fear that Helga was seriously injured, Arnold raced down the stairs and grabbed her arm to help her up. "Are you okay?" he frantically asked.

Helga laughed and brushed herself off, nodding in response. This greatly relieved Arnold and he again extended his hand out. "Now will you please allow me to help you down the rest of the boardwalk?" She clasped his hand with her's and the two set off. There were a few instances along the way where Helga's heel got caught in the wooden boards, causing her to stumble. Every time this happened though, Arnold quickly caught her and straightened her up. However, the final time this happened, they both fell down, with Helga twisting around and landing on her back with Arnold on top of her. There noses nearly touched and they were so close to each other that they could feel the other's warm breath on their face. Blushing and nervously smiling, they quickly mumbled apologies and stood up. Helga took off her heels, opting to walk barefoot than have another embarrassing fall again.

Once they reached the pier, they walked to the end of it and gazed out along the ocean. "Wow," Helga murmured in awe. The sight was a gorgeous one to behold. The moon was high up in the sky over the ocean and the waves crashed in as several seagulls flew over the water. Silently, they leaned against the barrier and enjoyed the view.

Helga looked over at Arnold and suddenly guilt overcame her. She didn't deserve this night after what she had done to him. He was being so kind to her even after she had hurt him, probably worse than Kathleen ever had. She knew what needed to be done. "Arnold?"

"Yes, Helga," Arnold said, looking over at her so that she knew she had his attention.

"I'm sorry."

**A/N: Sorry this took a while. Had a case of writer's block and I wanted to do this right. Inspiration finally struck though and everything worked itself out. Hope you enjoy and thanks for the continued feedback! :)**


	11. Forget Me Not

Arnold snipped the ribbon and stood back to admire his handiwork. On his desk sat a pink gift bag filled with maroon tissue paper with the handles tied together by a simple pink ribbon. He liked the ribbon as it reminded him a lot of Helga's omnipresent pink bow. Today was her fourteenth birthday, and being the great friend that he was he had picked out a gift she was sure to love. A leather bound journal with gold trimmed pages that would surely be filled with her poems within a few months. She was never too keen on sharing her poems with him, and this had always been a point of confusion for him seeing as how close they were. Through this gift, he not only hoped to make her happy, but to also provide her with a vessel through which she could share her beautiful poems with him.

Snatching the bag up off his desk, he ran downstairs with his flannel shirt flying behind him. He had recently made the huge decision to flip his shirts, and now his red and yellow plaid shirt hung over his green shirt. It was quite clear now that he had indeed never been wearing a kilt. Yanking open the door he was surprised to find Kathleen standing on the porch with her arm partially raised, ready to knock. She nervously giggled and waved at him. "Hey, Arnold!"

"Hey! Uh…come on in!" Arnold sat the bag on the end table with the house phone and turned to face Kathleen. It was at this point that he noticed she was hiding something behind her back. "How're you?"

"I'm great! I actually came over because I have a surprise for you!" she grinned enthusiastically and stepped closer to Arnold.

"Yea?"

She brought her hand out from behind her back and waved two tickets in Arnold's face. "SURPRISE!" Arnold's eyes widened in shock at the sight of the tickets. They were tickets to the Annual Hillwood Jazz Festival that was taking place that afternoon and evening in the park. However, they weren't just regular tickets, but rather VIP tickets meaning that they'd be front row at everything and even have the opportunity to meet the biggest jazz artists of their time. A dazed look crossed Arnold's face and then he quickly snapped out of it, grabbed Kathleen, and kissed her a dozen times while repeatedly thanking her. She giggled at this and returned with several kisses of her own. "I should surprise you more often!" she said with a wink.

"How…how'd you even get these?"

"My dad's got some connections. Don't think about it too much, just enjoy! We better get going now too if we want to catch the opening acts!" She grabbed on to his arm and he eagerly followed right behind her. It wasn't until they had just gotten out the door that he remembered that he was supposed to meet Helga at the pier. He halted to a stop and began to run inside. "Arnold, we'll be late!"

"I know, Kathleen. I just have to do something really quick." She grabbed onto his arm and looked into his eyes.

"What do you have to do that's more important than this perfect afternoon we have before us?" Arnold chewed the inside of his cheek. He knew that Kathleen and Helga hadn't been on particularly great terms since he had started dating her, and bringing up Helga at this point would surely kill the excitement and put a downer to Kathleen's chipper mood. He then decided that he'd just give Helga a call from the park on his cell phone to wish her a happy birthday and explain to her that he wouldn't be able to meet her at the pier as usual today.

He beamed over at Kathleen and replied, "Nothing. Let's go!" At this he closed the door and took off running down the street hand in hand with Kathleen. It wasn't until they reached the park that Arnold realized that he had left his cell phone at home.

At the pier, Helga nervously sat with her legs dangling at the edge. Her hair was down today with her pink bow on top. She had opted for a spaghetti strapped pink dress with a white cardigan since it was a special day for her after all. Her parents hadn't paid any attention to the fact that it was her birthday since Olga had decided to call that morning and announce her engagement. Now all her parents could talk about was Olga's amazing fiancé and the upcoming wedding. Helga snorted derisively at the thought of Olga getting married. Ridiculous. At least she knew Arnold was coming and that he would certainly remember her birthday. Phoebe had called her the night before to wish her a happy birthday and this had been followed by a long conversation between the two where Helga finally admitted that she was sick of seeing Arnold with Kathleen all the time. Every time she saw them together or even the minutest romantic interaction between them, she felt a small piercing stab go through her heart. It took much will power for her to keep her emotions in check, however she had been acting more coolly towards Kathleen over the past few months which had led to tense relations. They weren't enemies in public or anything, they just preferred to not interact much. Phoebe had then suggested that Helga finally come clean with how she truly felt about Arnold to him and to do it as soon as possible.

Thus that was why she had decided to wear her locket around her neck today as well. The locket had gotten considerably smaller and simpler, now resembling a trinket that one could pick up at their local jeweler's. It still held a picture of Arnold, his eighth grade school photo that he had given her when they had exchanged pictures. Taking the locket in her hand, she opened it and gazed longingly at his photo with a small smile. "Oh Arnold, my love, today I shall finally end years of endless pain and horrid torture that my love for you has wrecked on my depraved soul. Finally, you shall know my true feelings and I will no longer hide them away deep beneath my surface." A lovesick sigh escaped her lips as she leaned back against the post.

2 PM came and went with no sign of Arnold. Helga figured that he was just running a little late and decided to remain where she was, confident that he would show up. However, as the sun continued across the sky and the minutes flew by, Helga's hope and happiness began to fade. Once the sun had reached the horizon line, Helga had stood up and started to shuffle home in a depressed state. She couldn't believe that Arnold had forgotten about her birthday. Maybe he was sick? Or worse… This thought caused Helga to fly in a panicked run towards the Sunset Arms.

It wasn't very long before she reached the large green door and was pounding on it in a frenzy. The door flew open and there was Phil standing there with a big grin. "Helga! What brings you here?"

"He didn't show! Is Arnold okay?" she frantically asked.

"Oh ho, he's fine! His little girlfriend…er what's her name…oh that's right, Kathleen! Anyway she surprised him with some fancy tickets to that snazzy jazz festival and they've been there the whole afternoon." Helga's face fell at this news. It was just as bad as Arnold getting injured or ill. He had chosen Kathleen over her, and worse, he had forgotten her birthday as well. Phil could sense that something was wrong with Helga. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the gift bag that Arnold had left on the end table. Silently he walked over, picked it up, and brought it to the door.

"Here, I think Shortman meant to give this to you before he took off." Mutely, Helga took the bag then looked up at Phil and whispered a thank you. A small tear slid down her cheek and as she turned to go, Phil placed a hand on her shoulder. "Happy birthday, Helga." he said with a bright smile.

Helga sadly smiled back as she said, "Thanks, Phil." Phil pensively watched from the doorway as Helga walked home with the sun slowly setting.

Once Arnold arrived home that night, Phil informed him of Helga's visit earlier that day. Panic overtook him as he realized he had never even bothered to call her to say that he wouldn't be able to meet her up, let alone wish her a happy birthday. He yanked the phone off the receiver so fast that the receiver fell off the table. Quickly he punched in the numbers of her cell phone and anxiously waited for her to pick up. She didn't, so he left an apologetic message with a request to call him back. He then called her house number, but just got an angry Bob Pataki yelling at him for calling at such a later. Sighing, he hung up and traipsed up to his room where he flopped on his bed and stared out of his skylight. Over the next several days during their Spring Break, he continued trying to get in touch with her. Finally on the fourth night of unanswered calls, he threw on his blue jacket and ran out the door to her house, determined to show her he was sorry and that he'd make it up to her.

**A/N: We're ALMOST to that night! The build up ended up being longer than I expected, and that night just seems like it deserves its own chapter. Hope you enjoy this chapter and as always thanks for your feedback, support, and just plain awesomeness! :)**


	12. Unspeakable Night

In record time he reached the front door of the Pataki's household. He rang the doorbell repetitively until a very annoyed Bob swung the door open. Arnold dashed in underneath his arm as Bob shouted after him, "Whattaya think you're doing?"

"Sorry, Mr. Pataki! I gotta see Helga!" Arnold yelled back as he scrambled up the stairs. Bob just waved his hand and sauntered back into the living room to watch more of his favorite game show, figuring that the two teens could work whatever their drama was out on their own.

Once he reached the top of the stairs, he slammed Helga's door open with such force that it caused the wall to shake a little. Helga's head snapped up and she leapt off her bed as Arnold ran towards her. "Helga, I'm so so sorry! I know that I forgot your birthday and I know that I should have at least called or something! Gah, I messed up! Really messed up! How can I make this up to you?" He pleadingly looked at her as she turned away from him and looked in her mirror. She could see how sorrowful he was for his mistake, and in any other situation she'd be able to forgive him. However, there were larger things at play.

With a sigh, Helga looked over her shoulder at Arnold and quietly said, "It's not just the fact that you forgot my birthday." Arnold's eyebrows raised up at this statement. What was she hinting at? She closed her eyes and clenched her fists before slowly continuing. "These past few months have been excruciatingly painful for me. The only time I ever get to be with you, just you, is on our Sundays. When you didn't show this time, it was like a stab in the back."

Arnold stood rooted at his spot, processing what she was saying. "What's going on, Helga? Why can't I just apologize to you and say, take you for ice cream or something?"

Helga whirled around and with a fiery look in her eyes, passionately screamed, "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" The color drained from Arnold's face as everything seemed to click into place. Helga's cool indifference towards Kathleen, the few times that she had snapped at Arnold when he talked about Kathleen, and the fact that she had begun to avoid him when he was with Kathleen. He suddenly felt light headed and stumbled over to Helga's bed to sit down. On the bed he saw a book of her poetry, but as he was about to lean over to get a closer look at it, the book was snapped shut. Helga sat down beside him on the bed, breathing deeply and trying hard to keep the tears at bay that were threatening to flow. Avoiding eye contact, she mumbled, "I never stopped loving you."

Shocked at this revelation, Arnold looked over at her with a surprised expression. Even after she had taken her previous confession back at FTi nearly five years ago, she had never stopped loving him. Nearly everything about the past made sense to him now, nearly. "Then why did you help me with Kathleen?" he asked.

Helga peered over at him and replied, "Because I saw how happy you were with her, and, well, it just seemed like the right thing to do."

"You should have told me how you felt."

"I already did that before, Arnoldo. Remember FTi? And how well did that end up for me? You completely skirted around the situation and it was worse than you directly rejecting me. I still didn't know how you really felt and after you told me that you were in love with Kathleen, well that didn't really seem like the best time to come out and be all 'Arnold, I love you! Choose me!'" She shook her head before continuing. "Every time I see you two together, I think to myself that if I had just had the guts to tell you that my feelings for you when I was nine were still the same now, only stronger, that you would be with me rather than her. Seeing you two together and acting like I'm happy about it, I die a little bit inside each time and I can't take much more of it." She stood up from the bed and strode to the center of the room as Arnold just stared at her, unable to wipe the shock and confusion from his face.

"Helga, I'm sorry! I didn't know!" He was baffled by how he had missed all the signs that she still cared for him in that way. Of course, he had always been dense when it came to love, and this just proved that point more to him. Finally understanding that Helga Pataki was still deeply in love with him, Arnold thought about where his feelings for her lay. She was his best friend, someone he could always count on for a good laugh, wise advice, and just general fun and understanding. As he continued to stare at her, he felt something stir within him. It was similar to what he felt when he was kissing Kathleen, but this feeling was different somehow. He couldn't quite explain it, but he knew that it meant something important and that he wanted to find out what that was.

Allowing instinct to guide him, he walked over to her and faintly said, "So, what do we do now?" He closed in as Helga felt her heart quicken. Their eyes locked on one another and Arnold stroked Helga's cheek as a tear fell from her eyes. He then slowly moved in as Helga closed her eyes. Their noses touched and a lovesick sigh escaped from Helga's lips, but just before their lips met, Helga snapped her eyes open and turned away.

"No! I can't let you do this, Arnold! Not while you're with Kathleen!" She shuddered, realizing that she had almost let her most perfect beloved falter.

Slightly dejected, Arnold mused, "Okay, so you really, really like me-"

"Love," Helga interjected.

"Fine, love. What do you propose our next move is then?"

She shuffled around where she was standing for a moment and bit her lip, realizing that she had to say it. "We can't be friends anymore."

Arnold's face fell at this statement. "Why?" he shouted at her.

Crossing her arms, Helga angrily replied, "Because if I continue the way I am, I'm going to snap. You try watching someone you love be happy and smitten with someone else and not go insane! I've been doing it ever since elementary school and it hasn't gotten any easier! It's just better if we snip our bond and you leave me alone because I can't take much more of this torture that is you with Kathleen!"

"No, Helga! Just…no! You're my best friend! Please, we can work through this!" implored Arnold. He continued to shout at Helga's back, frantically suggesting various ideas as to how they could continue being friends without her having to deal with Kathleen. Imagining a future without her in it was unbearable for Arnold, and as he shouted he began to think that maybe, just maybe, it was because he had feelings for her too.

As he continued his pleading, Helga realized that Arnold wasn't going to walk away from her easily and that it would take something drastic to ensure that he would leave her alone. Suddenly, an idea entered her head that was sure to get her the desired outcome. It horrified her, but she knew she had to do it in order to get him out of his life for good and gain some chance at regaining what little was left of her sanity. Gritting her teeth and in one fluid motion, Helga spun around and placed her hands on Arnold's chest, pushing him back with all the strength that she could muster. The moment she started shoving him, their eyes made contact and Helga could see his green orbs fill with hurt and betrayal. Immediately she regretted her choice of action, but it was too late. Arnold flew through the air, his body knocking over her chair as he crashed on to her desk. A loud CRACK emanated in the air as his football shaped head smacked against the mirror. Helga speechlessly watched as Arnold slumped down from the desk, his body resembling that of a rag doll on the floor.

She rushed over and knelt beside him, gasping when she saw blood trickling down the back of his neck. "Oh God, Arnold I'm sorry! God I'm so sorry!" Helga cried out as she reached out to help him up. Arnold brushed away her hand and stood up on his own, wobbling a bit as he did so. He looked down at her with so much disdain and bitterness that Helga cringed and felt what remained of her heart shatter into a million pieces.

"You want to not be friends anymore? Fine, you got it." Arnold sharply declared. He then tore out of the room clutching the back of his head and not even glancing back at Helga. Numbness overtook Helga as she slowly realized that she had destroyed any hope of ever getting to be with her beloved Arnold. Looking over she saw the small pool of blood that had seeped from Arnold's injury and she fell back in horror knowing that she had done the one thing she had promised never to do to him; she had physically harmed him. She stood up and saw the crack in the mirror that Arnold's head had left. A permanent reminder of her irredeemable action, it fractured her reflection as though it knew that she was a broken woman.

In a hysteria at this point, Helga dashed downstairs, grabbed her coat, and ran out into the night air towards Dr. Bliss's office. She knew that if anyone could help her, it would be Dr. Bliss. However, upon her arrival she found the office to be devoid of any human occupancy. Feeling abandoned and truly alone, Helga fell to the floor and lost control of her emotions, sobbing until she fell into a fitful slumber.

After everyone returned from break to school, the hallways were filled with gossip regarding Helga's new look. Gone was her pink bow and dress, now replaced by a gray beanie with her pigtails hanging limply over her shoulders, pink shirt, and boot cut jeans with black combat boots. Her classmates wondered aloud what could have caused this sudden shift in her outward appearance and why she seemed so devoid of life. Helga walked by them all, ignoring their whispers and muttered musings. As she walked by Arnold at his locker, she chanced a glance over at him and saw that a bandage was over the spot where he had hit his head. He glared at her, which caused her to quickly look away and break out in a full sprint to her class, certain that the damage done that night was irreparable.

**A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter after all the build up to it! It was certainly interesting to write! Thanks again for continuing to read and your reviews! They make me go *squee* :D**


	13. Forgive and Forget

"I'm sorry," Helga repeated as she searched Arnold's face for any signs of hostility. Arnold stared back at Helga with his emerald eyes as he mulled over what she had just said. He had known for a long time that her actions that night had been rash and that she had regretted them. In fact he had silently forgiven her in his mind a while ago, deciding to move on from the incident rather than dwell on it.

With a smile and squeeze of her hand, Arnold quietly said, "I know." A wave of relief washed over Helga as she smiled as well, knowing that Arnold had forgiven her. However, the unshakeable guilt still remained in the pit of her stomach like a rock and she didn't know if it would ever erode away. They stood in silence as they took in the moonlit ocean and the stars sparkling in the night sky above them. The sound of waves crashing beneath the pier soothed Helga's rattled nerves and made her feel more at ease with everything. She couldn't help but wonder why Arnold was so quick to forgive her when she still couldn't even forgive herself for her terrible actions. He had indeed grown over these past two years, and so had she. However, his increased maturity and worldly knowledge couldn't be the reason why he had forgiven her. She furrowed her brows as she thought more on the matter, turning over all possibilities but one in her head.

As she thought, Arnold shuffled in closer to her and placed his hand over her own that rested on the pier barrier. As their hands met, he thought he felt a shudder pass through Helga. The warmth inside of him grew at the feel of his skin meeting her's and in his mind he thought he could hear the soft sounds of a beautiful jazz piece being played on a piano. He turned and looked over at Helga, noticing that she was deep in thought about something. Her eyes still had a somewhat sad look as she gazed out towards the ocean, however they shined in the starlight in a way that took his breath away. The music in his head gradually grew to include a soft saxophone and a romantic violin. Slowly Helga's eyes peered over at him and a soft smile spread across her face. Arnold loved that smile as he knew that when Helga did smile like that, she was truly happy with whatever was going on at that time. Her golden hair billowed some as a light breeze blew around them and he couldn't help but notice how delicate and beautiful her hair looked when it was down, although he certainly loved her pigtails the best.

As he continued to look over at her, Arnold remembered all the good times he and Helga had had before they had abruptly broken off their friendship. All the times they had shared a sundae at Slausen's while discussing the goings on of their lives, their pier meetings, and all the various school projects they worked on when they weren't too busy sharing a good laugh. Arnold was glad that they had gone on this blind date and he silently thanked Phoebe and Gerald for making it happen. He had been missing Helga as she had always been someone he could count on for a laugh, wise advice, and a good piece of her writing on the rare occasion that she let him read a sample of it.

It was at this point that he realized he didn't just want Helga back- he needed her in his life. He needed her more than anyone in the world. A quick look over at Helga was all he needed to reach his final conclusion- he was in love with her. At this realization, the jazz music in his head exploded into a full blown orchestra and increased to a formidably loud volume. It was the most beautiful music he had ever heard in his life and it nearly brought him to his knees in awe. His heart rate quickened and the warmth inside of him grew. It was unlike anything he had felt before, and it was definitely better than anything he had ever felt with Kathleen, even with her best kiss.

Looking over at Helga he murmured, "Helga, I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to promise me that you'll tell me the truth, no matter what the question."

She raised an eyebrow at this and cautiously replied, "Okay…"

Arnold thought that his heart was going to beat out of his chest and that his ears just might explode from the intensity of his internal music. With a deep breath, he asked, "Do you still love me?"

Shocked at his question, Helga stiffened and gripped the pier barrier so hard that her knuckles turned white. After what seemed like an eternity to Arnold, Helga meekly said, "Yes. I…I never sto-" She wasn't able to finish as Arnold embraced her and crashed his lips against her own in a kiss so full of a passion that it made Helga weak at the knees. Once the initial shock at the fact that he was finally kissing her wore off, she lost herself in the moment. The warmth that had been pulsating inside Arnold grew and filled his entire body, and he could feel nothing but the softness of Helga's lips pressed against his.

Only the lack of air caused them to break apart and stare at each other, Arnold sheepishly smiling and Helga looking surprised at what had just occurred. Quickly she pinched herself and yelped, which made Arnold break into peals of laughter. He shook his head as he said between laughs, "It's not a dream, Helga! I promise you!"

"So…so…we just kissed! _You_ just kissed _me_!" She grinned ecstatically as she said this and Arnold nodded at her statement. "Does this mean…what I think it means?"

"Uh huh, I think I'm in love with you."

"Are you sure you're not just deeply in like with me?"

Arnold took Helga's hand and laid it upon his chest where his heart lay. She gasped as she felt how fast his heart was pounding. "I'm pretty sure it's love."

"Well, I'd let you feel mine too, football head, but I'm not letting you get to second base _that_ easily," she winked mischievously. He laughed at this before softly pecking Helga. She let out a girlish sigh as their lips broke apart. However once her eyes opened again, they took on a panicked look. Arnold became confused as he saw the fear in her eyes. "I can't do this, Arnold," she mumbled as she turned away from him. "I can't hurt you again."

"You won't hurt me again, Helga! I know you won't!" She didn't turn around at these words.

Quietly she said, "I'm sorry," then picked up her heels and dashed off. Arnold chased after her screaming her name, but it was in vain. She was too fast for him and before he had even reached the stairs, she had already crossed over the bridge and disappeared around the corner.

He fell to his knees as numbness overcame him. What had he done that had made her run away from him so abruptly? Then it hit him like a ton of bricks. Even though he had forgiven her and even finally realized his love for her, she was unable to forgive herself and allow her fantasy to become a reality. At this realization, he stood up and determinedly began walking along the sidewalk. He had to find a way to show her that she was indeed a great person who deserved everything out of life.

It wasn't long before he reached Chez Paris and saw Gerald and Phoebe snuggling on the bench in front of the fountain. Phoebe dashed over to him once she spotted him and rapidly asked if everything was okay. He shook his head and looked over at Gerald, who had just joined the group. Over the next several minutes he recounted the entire night, from when he passed out after figuring out that Cecile was Helga, to their conversation over dinner, the pier kiss and confessions of love, and Helga abruptly and fearfully abandoning him. During this Phoebe and Gerald listened intently. Arnold even finally told them about the night that Helga had shoved him against the mirror and ended their friendship in one regrettable action.

After he was finished, silence fell upon the group as Gerald patted Arnold on the back sympathetically. Gerald then eyed Arnold and said, "You told her you loved her?" Arnold shot back a scowl at this remark. "Just saying, you're a bold kid, my man." He smirked over at Arnold who relaxed a bit.

"I always did wonder where that crack in the mirror came from," Phoebe mused aloud. It was at this statement that Arnold's eyes lit up. Of course!

"Guys, you might think I'm crazy, but I think I know how to get Helga to move on from the past. I'm going to need your help though. Are you in?"

Without hesitation Gerald and Phoebe vigorously nodded, then leaned in closer to listen to Arnold's plan. Once he was done explaining, Gerald skeptically asked, "You really think this is going to work?"

"Logically it should, Gerald. Sounds like a good plan to me!" Phoebe beamed at Arnold who beamed back.

"All right, we just have to stop at my house first. There's something I have to grab before we go do this." The trio then dashed off to the Sunset Arms, full of determination to return Helga back to her whole self.

**A/N: End game now guys! Thanks for the continued support! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :)**


	14. Time Heals All

Blearily opening her eyes, Helga looked about her room as the first rays of morning poured in from her window. She slowly sat up and clutched her head, trying to recall the events of the previous night. Once she had pulled back her covers to reveal that she was still in the same dress from last night, everything came back to her. Arnold's realization she was Cecile, their reconnection over French cuisine, the pier, that kiss… It wasn't a dream at all. It had all happened and she had ran away from it due to her own insecurities. Silently cursing herself, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed and leapt out.

On her way to her closet something caught Helga's eye that made her abruptly stop in her tracks. Out of her peripheral vision she had noticed that something was not quite right at her desk. Walking over towards her desk, she searched for whatever it was that had given her the feeling that something had changed. Her fingers touched the mirror that sat upon the desk as she silently relived the horrid night again in her mind. It was at this point that her eyes traveled down to where the crack had been. However, the crack was no longer there on the right side of the mirror. It was smooth as could be, her reflection now whole and not fractured. A weight seemed to lift off of Helga as she realized that the one final reminder of her terrible deed had vanished. She gasped and stumbled a few steps backwards as Arnold's reflection appeared in the doorway behind her. Was it a hallucination? Had she finally lost it? There was only one way to find out.

Cautiously she turned and saw that yes, Arnold was indeed standing in her doorway wearing jeans and a red and yellow plaid shirt, his omnipresent blue cap slightly tilted on his oblong head and his left arm behind his back. Helga's mouth dropped in shock as Arnold sheepishly smiled. "Morning, Helga."

Helga merely nodded once in return, then glanced back at the mirror before returning her gaze to Arnold. "Did you do this?" she asked, pointing to the spot where the crack had once been. Arnold nodded in reply. "How?" Helga asked sternly.

"Well, after you ran off last night," at this Helga looked down and shuffled her feet nervously. "After you ran off, I walked back to Chez Paris and found Gerald and Phoebe. Phoebe used her spare key and grabbed your mirror off your desk with Gerald's help. You're a pretty deep sleeper actually because she accidentally dropped the mirror on Gerald's foot and he squealed a little." He chuckled at the memory.

"How did my parents not hear you?"

Arnold grinned as he said, "They weren't home when we came. Anyways, I know a guy who does odd repair jobs. So I gave him a call, brought the mirror over to him, and he fixed it in no time! Then we just brought it back here and placed it on your desk before you woke up!" He blushed once he was finished.

Helga's mouth was still agape in shock. He had fixed her mirror and erased the final reminder of that night. The crack was gone, as though it had never existed and Arnold's head had never smacked against the mirror. "I…I can't believe you did this. Why?" She shyly asked. Arnold walked towards her and grabbed her hand.

He brought his left hand around to reveal a small red sandal that he was holding. Helga gasped at the sight of it. Her shoe from their first Valentine's Day! "I did it because seven years ago I met this amazing girl who made me see the world in a different way and actually cared about me and my thoughts. I unfortunately let her get away, but last night she came back in my life again and showed me that beauty and love do exist in this harsh and cruel world. You, Helga, you are that girl!" Helga softly smiled at him and he smiled in return before continuing. "You were my best friend through middle school and the beginning of high school and you've always been there for me even when I didn't know it. Helga, even though we both did things that night that we regret, it's in the past. We can't completely erase it, but just know that I forgave you a while ago and I know that you can forgive yourself."

Helga chewed her lip as Arnold gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "I just can't believe I was capable of hurting you that much! I mean, you were and still are one of the few good things in my life!"

"It's surprising what we're capable of, Helga. Remember that time I snapped and threw paint on you?" Helga giggled as she nodded. "I didn't think I was capable of such a rash action, but I surprised everyone when I did it. Even though I deeply regretted it, I was able to forgive myself and move on."

"This was different though, Arnold! I shoved you into that mirror and you bled on to my floor and-" She was cut off as Arnold took her hand and placed it on the back of his head.

"What do you feel?"

"N-nothing," stammered Helga.

"There's nothing there, Helga. It's healed, just like all wounds heal over time. Now can you forgive yourself?" he asked as he encouragingly smiled. A small smile spread over Helga's face as she nodded. Her guilt melted away as she caressed Arnold's smooth scalp and looked into his soothing green eyes.

"I let you get away seven years ago, and I'm not going to let you get away again." With that he pulled Helga in to a passionate kiss that filled them both with an incredible warmth and joy that was indescribable. The kiss seemed to last an eternity and their faces glowed in the bright morning light. As they broke apart, they gazed into one another's eyes and breathed heavily.

Helga leapt forward and caught Arnold by surprise with another kiss. Twisting around they fell back on Helga's bed with Helga on top of Arnold as they continued to kiss as though it would be their last. "**HEY!**" Helga and Arnold's heads shot up as they saw Big Bob in the doorway.

"Oh, criminy," cursed Helga.

"Whattaya think you're doing, girl?"

"Making out with the guy I've been in love with since I was three. You got a problem with that?"

"Of course I've got a problem with that! I don't even know this kid!"

Arnold sat up and sheepishly waved at Bob, his cheeks a deep shade of red. "Hi, Mr. Pataki."

"Oh, it's you," Bob said as he recognized the football headed boy. "Well, no more of this tom foolery under my roof. You got it?"

Helga rolled her eyes as she said, "Yes, dad." Bob shot Arnold a stern look that told him to not screw anything up before he left to go downstairs. A deep exhalation escaped from Arnold as Helga fell back on the bed laughing. Once they had fully gotten over the shock of being caught by Bob, Arnold leaned over Helga and grinned.

"You know, I meant it when I said I was never letting you get away again."

Helga raised her eyebrows at this. "Oh and why's that, football head?" she asked as she sat up and smirked.

Their noses were nearly touching as Arnold smoothly said, "Because I'm in love with you." He softly kissed her and smiled as he heard her girlish sigh when their lips broke apart.

"I love you too, Arnold," Helga breathlessly said. They sat on the bed clasping each other's hands and looking over at the mirror that was now once again whole. Helga smiled and looked over at Arnold, who had a goofy lovesick smile himself. They kissed once more before heading out the door hand in hand towards the rest of the day and the rest of their lives.

**A/N: Thanks everyone for reading this and constantly leaving such awesome stuff! It's been a blast to write and I'm glad to have finished it. Hope you've enjoyed the ride as much as I enjoyed writing it! 'Till next time. :)**


End file.
